The Demon Brothers of Konoha
by JayTang
Summary: The life of an orphan is a lonely one,especially when one has a demon in one's stomach.Narutos life if he had a fellow orphan who cared. Bad summary, better summary inside. Starts slowly but picks up. A must read for any Naruto fan! Strong Naru, Hina, OC
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**So far I'm not sure what the pairings will be…**

**Vote on my profile for parings for the characters, or leave me a message via PM.**

**I do not own Naruto.)**

**Summary:**

**Alright, so we all know Naruto had a crappy childhood right? But what if he and another orphan decided to look out for each other in a cruel world? Basically, this story is my take on how Naruto's life could have been different. Otherwise, almost all facts follow canon, but its important to remember that Naruto won't be obsessed hung up on Sasuke's dick. No Yaoi.**

11/24/09

* * *

Chapter 1: The Beginning

_Seven years after the Kyuubi incident…_

A tall woman shooed children away from a certain… _thing_. She would be damned if she let any of her children be near that thing.

"Stay away from him…"

"Demon child…"

A small blonde was in the corner of the orphanage, his back facing everyone. No one could see the tears that streamed down his face, down the six curious lines on his face. No one could see the sadness in his blue eyes. No one would play with him.

_Why won't anyone play with me?_

* * *

A short boy glared at his captors, um escorts with dark brown eyes. He had been caught a few days ago rummaging through the trash looking for things to eat when someone had found him. One thing led to the next, and here he was on the way to an orphanage. He hated authority. He would rather be starving but free on his own, able to make his own decisions, rather than be under the care of some… people.

His stomach growled. The boy ran his hand through his short black hair and scowled. **(This is not Sasuke. This is my OC.)**

_It's for the food._

The two adults rather unceremoniously brought him inside the orphanage, dropped him on the ground, gave some papers to the orphanage's headmistress, and left, showing the typical amount of care from so-called 'public servants'.

The little boy scowled again, then stopped himself. He was bored already. At least life on the streets never got boring. There was always something to do. At the very least, there was one thing you were always doing: surviving.

He looked around the orphanage, seeing curious faces. He gave them all a blank look. They were like little animals, running towards an unknown with no regard for the consequences. _Like pigs running to the slaughter._ A street rat would never run near a stranger just to get a look. To steal a purse or a wallet, sure. But not for just a look.

_I have to stop thinking like that. I guess I just don't live on the streets anymore. I suppose I should make some… friends. But with these children?_ The boy ignored the fact that he was essentially the same age, or even younger than some of the other orphans.

He saw a patch of spiky blond hair. He walked over to the blonde, and saw his shoulders were shaking. He was crying.

"Why are you crying?" The black haired boy asked.

"No one will play with me." The blonde responded.

"I'll play with you. **(A/N: Nuh uh, not like that)** What do you want to play?"

"Not Hide-and-Seek, that's no fun to play with only two people. Not Tag either, same thing." The blonde frowned. Two seconds later his face split with a huge grin. "I got it! Let's play Ninja!"

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Dunno. I don't remember my parents, and I've never been really close to anyone. Aha! I know!" He looked side to side, scared that someone else would hear. "Before now, I fed myself by stealing food or wallet. When people think they're alone, they often talk to themselves, and usually whenever I stole a guy's wallet, he'd say something like, 'Oh, I must have dropped in somewhere in the shadows.' So call me Kage!"** (Literally means shadow, pronounced Ka-Gei, as in Kage Bushin [Shadow Clone] or Hokage. Not as in Cage)**

"Cool! That's a great name! My name's Naruto…" As soon as he said that, he smirked. "It means fish patty…"

They both laughed at that. Unknown to either of them, their friendship would last for years and years, and they would both grow to depend on each other.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

The two boys both looked up when they heard a metal clanking sound. Dinner time!

Kage and Naruto both rushed to get in line for food. But because they were somewhat far away playing Ninja, they were in the very back of the line.

Mizune frowned as she saw the two boys. She would have to have a talking with the new one. Could have her newest charge being influence by the demon boy, now could she?

As each child reached the front of the line, she scooped a single bowlful of rice onto their dirty plates. Typically, when Naruto came up she only gave him about half a bowlful. Naruto, being completely used to it, didn't complain. If he did, she would just take it away completely. He walked off.

Kage was the very last child in line. Mizune smiled what she considered to be a motherly smile at the boy.

"Well it looks like I made a little bit more rice that usual this time. I hope you don't mind if I give you the extra?"

Kage's stomach growled again. The fat woman laughed again.

"Of course you don't. Here you go." She scooped him the equivalent of nearly three bowls of rice.

Bringing her head down, she whispered to the black haired boy.

"Stay away from the blond."

"Why?"

"Because he is a demon."

"Why?"

Mizune frowned. She could tell the boy… and risk execution for violating the Third Hokage's law. She decided it wasn't worth it. Children were not exactly skilled at keeping secrets.

"Because I said so."

"Why?" Kage asked again.

"Just do it! You will do it!" She hissed.

Kage stared at the woman like she was mentally retarded. Or maybe just plain stupid. (Oh wow, this kid is smart.)

"That's not a good reason." He promptly walked off towards Naruto.

Kage sat down next to Naruto. He looked over at Naruto's pitiful serving, then looked down at his own. Kage's stomach growled as he pondered this moral dilemma. Feed a boy he just met, or feed himself. He scowled. The Fat Lady, as he had already taken to calling her, probably never gave Naruto much food.

Kage unceremoniously dumped about half his plate into Naruto's, then started eating voraciously. He completely missed Naruto's wide-eyed look of shock. No one ever gave him their food before. His shock quickly turned to happiness as he, too, began eating his food. Within minutes both were finished.

"Kage…"

"Yeah…"

"We're friends, right?"

"Yeah, and…?"

"…nothing. Thank you, though."

"Don't worry about it. Friends gotta look out for each other, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Their brief moment of sentimental maturity was soon over. After all, they were only seven.

"Let's play Ninja some more!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

_Three years later…_

"…AND NEVER COME BACK!" Mizune screamed. Throwing Naruto out onto the street, Mizune stormed back into the orphanage.

Naruto stood up and brushed himself off. The last few years had not been easy for the orphanage's manager. He had made sure of that. He and Kage had played plenty of pranks to make Mizune's life hell. From cutting holes in her pants so everyone could see her fat ass, to painting her face while she was asleep, no prank was too childish to play on the evil woman. She deserved it, ten times over.

"…AND TAKE YOUR MINION WITH YOU!" Mizune added, throwing Kage outside for good measure.

Kage also stood up and brushed himself off.

"Minion?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm insulted. Most of our pranks were _my_ idea. If anything you are my minion."

Naruto smiled. For a moment, he was afraid Kage would hate him for getting them both thrown out of their home, no, the orphanage. A home was a place to be happy in, and that definitely wasn't it. His smile quickly vanished, though. They had nowhere to go, no way to get food.

_But why is Kage smiling? He usually would have realized this by now. He should be ranting by now. But he's smiling like we just pulled the best prank._

"I know that look on your face. What did you do?" The blonde asked, filled with trepidation.

"Did you ever wonder why the other thing Mizune ever gave us children to eat was rice or occasionally ramen? Especially when orphanages are funded directly by the city?"

Naruto blinked at the non sequitur.

_Mmmmmmmnnnn ramen… wait what?_

His mind raced at the implications. Contrary to what he let most people believe, Naruto was not stupid, far from it. First of all, Naruto often played dumb just so people would underestimate him and see him as less of a threat. Second, he just preferred not to think when it wasn't necessary.

"She… laundered money?"

Kage's smile dropped a bit. "Yeah, the money that was supposed to go to feeding us, keeping the building in good shape, getting us toys, all that stuff. That bitch stole the money and used some of it on herself. In fact, most of it she didn't even use. It's like she stole it just to have the money, not even to use it."

"Buuuuuuut…" He continued, "If she's not using it, she's not gonna miss is, is she?"

Naruto's grin almost split his face. "You didn't…"

"Oh yeah." Kage unzipped his jacket, showing fat bags of ryo hidden in his jacket. "I guess she never really paid any attention to us if she didn't notice when I gained twenty pounds or so. In the end, we got the last laugh."

"How much?"

"Enough for us to eat for... oh, say, five or six years…. In addition to getting a house."

"NO WAY!"

"Yep. Maybe not a house, though, but at least a decent sized apartment."

"What'll we do when the money runs out?" Naruto asked.

Kage smile as a wave of nostalgia washed over him. "Remember the first game we ever played? We're gonna become the best Kami-damned shinobi Konoha has ever seen. Friends 'til the end?"

Naruto slowly shook his head.

"No… We stopped being friends a long time ago…brother."

They both smiled.

* * *

**(A/N: I just had fried rice for dinner right before I wrote this, so I just had to use it in the food scene.)**

**How's that for an epic start?**


	2. Chapter 2: The Academy

**(A/N: Okay, second chapter of The Demon Brothers of Konoha. Don't worry, eventually the name will be explained.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO)**

12/1/09

* * *

Chapter 2: The Academy

_Two years later (twelve years since the Kyuubi incident)…_

Time had passed. Our two favorite ninjas-to-be had changed greatly over the years. Although they have had no way to get formal ninja training, they had been studying basic taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and fuinjutsu from scrolls in the academy's library.

They had found that neither of them had skill for genjutsu whatsoever. Their taijutsu was strong for both of them, with Naruto preferring a style that seemingly left the defense open, but allowed the user to block and counter easily. Kage preferred evasions rather than blocks, allowing him to more quickly take advantage of an opponent's missed strike. Without any real teacher, they basically learned all moves from scrolls and practiced them by sparring with each other. Neither knew it, but both Naruto and Kage were far faster and stronger than average genin, due to years of both pranking and then running from said prank victims. It actually required a lot of strength and coordination to hang from one hand and deface the Hokage Stone Monument with the other. And running 10+ kilometers as angry mobs chased them was no small feat either, particularly considering more than half of said mobs were ninjas themselves.

Also, due to their limited budget, they ate a diet of rice and noodles and lean meats and fishes, along with any vegetables or fruits they could steal. To be fair, they always tried to purchase their food first. They only stole from the people who refused them service or charged obviously inflated prices. It just so happened that that category happened to include just about every grocer and market owner. Naruto and Kage couldn't figure out why so many people seemed to hate them, or more accurately, why so much animosity was directed at Naruto in particular.

However, there were a few places that treated the two brothers like any other customers. There was a ramen stand called Ichiraku's, owned by a friendly old man named Teuchi, and his daughter, a brunette named Ayame. Naruto loved ramen, there were just so many ways you could cook and eat it! It could actually be made quite healthily, with vegetables and low spice levels. Kage actually also liked ramen quite a bit, although not as much as Naruto. Kage had found a sushi house called Sendai's Sushi. Kage loved the mixtures of rice, raw fish, and seaweed, but unfortunately, sushi was far more expensive than ramen.

Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, almost immediately capture Kage's attention. He found the myriad uses of seals fascinating: storage, chakra sealing, etc. Naruto saw seals as ridiculously complicated jumbles of pictures, and preferred to ignore them, although Kage made sure they could both recognize the seals other ninjas could use, such as storage sealing or bomb tags.

Ninjutsu was a whole different story for them. Both Kage and Naruto had massive chakra reserves, but Kage had better external chakra control while Naruto had better internal chakra control. For example, on his first try, Kage could execute a Kawarimi no Jutsu on his first try just from reading a scroll, whereas Naruto couldn't even manifest a relatively human shape for the Bushin no Jutsu. But Naruto could pull off multiple henge (transformation) consecutively, smoothly changing appearances without having to revert to his original form.

But each brother had a hidden talent as well.

* * *

_Flashback_

Somehow, the villagers had found out where the two lived. One night, a group of villagers cornered Naruto, alone, and beaten him to a bloody pulp. Kage had come home from the library, where he was studying fuinjutsu **(sealing techniques)**, and found Naruto, beaten and bloody, on his doorstep. He had no pulse. A kunai was lodged in his thigh, and a note on a string was tied to it. Kage pulled the kunai out.

| Death to the demon |

Kage trembled with rage.

_Most people think death is an ending point, the end of a line. It's not. Death is a circle, each death requiring vengeance thus causing other deaths, those deaths causing even more lives to be lost._

"Do you like it?" asked a voice behind him. Kage turned around slowly.

He saw a group of six men. They looked to be ordinary civilians, except for one, the one who had spoken. He looked different. More dangerous. That fact that he was twirling a kunai around his forefinger hinted at his profession.

"What?" Kage asked in a monotone.

"We fucked him up good, yeah?"

"Good… yeah." Kage mimicked. The group smiled. For a second they thought he was the demon's associate. "Now I won't have to spend time tracking you down." Kage added.

The leader laughed. _Guess he was with the demon, after all._ "Boy, there's six of us, one of you. Five of us, since I'm leaving. Fuck 'im up, boys." He turned around and took less that ten paces when he heard a soft voice, unmistakably laced with KI (killer intent).

"Turn around…"

He did so, and found his six friends dead. "How…" He paled.

* * *

_Flashback – less than fifteen seconds ago_

"…of us, since I'm leaving."

Kage looked at the kunai in his hand. Could he do it? Kill seven men, with absolutely no true combat experience of his own?

_Doesn't matter if I can. I have to._

On impulse, he shifted the kunai into a reversed grip, better for slashing than stabbing. He cut the inside of his forearm and wiped both sides of the kunai in his blood.

He looked up at the men, and they gasped at what they saw. Taking advantage of their surprise, he scythed through the men.

Kage slashed two throats before any could react. As he was about to initiate a swing at a third, his target raised his arms to protect his face and throat. Kage took a low slash instead, disemboweling the man. The fourth was even more prepared, taking a ready stance with one hand high and one hand low. Kage feinted with the kunai and slammed a kick into his opponent's crotch. As the man doubled over, Kage impaled the man's heart. The fifth was stunned. He gave no resistance as Kage casually reached over and slit his throat.

Kage stared at the last man.

"Turn around…" he said softly.

_They say the eyes are a window into the soul. 'Course, they also say quicksilver can give you immortality._

Where before, Kage had regular eyes with dark brown irises, he had a completely black eye. It was as if his pupil had suddenly decided to swallow his iris.

"Kekkei Genkai? But, what, but the only doujutsus in Konoha are the Byakugan and the Sharingan!" The shinobi gasped.

"…"

Kage dashed at the man and slashed at his chest. He recovered in time to dodge Kage's first slash, pulling a kunai from the pouch on his thigh.

To Kage, it seemed like everything moved in slow motion. He felt his heart beat. He made another slash at the man's face, waiting for eternity as his army slowly arced towards his target. He saw the stranger raising his own kunai to intercept the slash.

As the two kunai connected, something odd happened. The stranger's kunai shattered, the fragments blasting into the side of his face. Unhindered, Kage's knife continued, but by sheer coincidence, the pain of having multiple pieces of metal in his face made the strange flinch back a few inches. The kunai slashed an inch into his face at eye level, destroying one eye, cutting through the top of his nose, and ruining the other eye.

Kage's heart finished its second beat.

The man stumbled back and slumped to the ground screaming in agony. Kage stomped on the man's stomach, making him curl into a ball. His screams gradually tapered down to sobs.

"Please… end it… kill me."

Dispassionately, Kage looked at the knife in his hand. His hand, no, his entire arm was covered in gore.

_Naruto's bloody corpse, lying on the floor._

"No… for you now, death is no punishment. Everyday you live will be a constant reminder of today. Everyday you will remember and regret your actions."

He crouched down to his fallen opponent's body. He cut the tendons in each hand, and then cut all the tendons in both of his shoulders. He ignored the man's screams of pain, for mercy, for intervention. He sawed into flesh, giving pain for pain inflicted, drawing blood for blood drawn.

"You will not escape your punishment. Blind and unable to use your hands or your arms, you will forever depend on the mercy of others. Every time you go to sleep at night, it will be a small death. Every time you wake up, you live again to die anew. Without your hands, you will not be able to commit suicide to escape. May others show you mercy, though you have showed none."

Kage closed his eyes. He realized that he had been channeling chakra to his eyes subconsciously. He stopped the chakra flow, but not before he realized one thing.

"You: in the tree. You can come out now."

An ANBU with a dog mask jumped out of the tree.

* * *

_Ah, fuck! The Sandaime __**(The Third, meaning the Third Hokage)**__ will kill me if I let sensei's son die!_

The ANBU blurred towards Naruto's house. The Sandaime knew almost everything that went on in Konoha [1]. After word of a disturbance, he had sent his ANBU Captain, codenamed Inu (**Dog**) for his mask, to ascertain the cause, and if necessary, defend Naruto.

The man shunshin'd (**Body Flicker**) into a tree. He saw a bloody meatbag on the ground, six men, and a boy who looked to be defending the bloody meatbag. He watched in surprise as the boy scythed through the men. The boy was fast for his age.

"…kei Genkai? …but the only doujutsus in…the Byakugan and the Sharingan!" the ANBU heard.

_Hm, what's this? Kid's got a visual Kekkei Genkai, huh?_

He opened the mask's slot over his left eye so he could watch with his Sharingan. He stared in amazement as the boy's kunai shattered the other kunai. He heard his pronouncement, and watched spellbound as he let him live.

_Shit, I completely forgot about Naruto! Is he the one on the doorstep?_

"You: in the tree. You can come out now."

He complied.

"Is Na… your friend okay?" Kakashi mentally curse. He'd slipped up.

_He knows_. Kage thought. _He knows who we are, or at least who Naruto is._

He walked over to Naruto's body… Naruto's corpse. But it wasn't a corpse, not anymore. Somehow, he was breathing, his heart was beating. How?

"Yeah, he's fine. Most of that blood isn't his." He lied.

Behind the mask, the ANBU quirked an eyebrow. They both knew it was a lie. But he could see in the boy's eyes that he would not accept medical help. But why?

"Whatever. I'll take this guy…" the ANBU gestured to the unconscious shinobi. "And leave."

"Fine… but my pronouncement stands. I know you heard it. I will remember you, Inu-san." (referring the dog mask)

"Duly noted. The rest will be cleaned up later." He jumped off with the shinobi on his back, fireman style. He doubted the kid would be able to remember him. The ANBU were notorious for their anonymity. He had only killed the other five due to surprise.

As the ANBU left, Kage sighed. He looked to his brother.

_What the hell, man? What the freaking hell…_

He unlocked the door and dragged his brother inside. When he got him into the room he let go of the body and closed the door.

Kage flinched and whipped around. He felt a strong presence. Strong was far too weak a word to describe this feeling.

Surrounding Naruto's body was a red aura of chakra. He tried to get closer, but the chakra was so dense it forced his body back.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Kage shouted.

He could see Naruto's body healing. His bloody skin starting to repair itself, pink fresh skin forming over where wounds were. Loud snaps could be heard as his bones forced themselves back into the correct position.

* * *

_Naruto's Mindscape_

"Urrgh. What the hell?" Naruto woke up.

Naruto found he was in a hallway, kind of. It was more of a long, narrow sewer. The water went up to his calves.

"Guess I might as well start walking. Nothing else to do."

Naruto couldn't tell how long he walked; all sense of time was irrelevant. Gradually, he came to a set of ridiculously huge bars. Jail bars. Suddenly orange, glowing eyes opened.

"**Way to go, brat. You've managed to get killed before you've even finished going through puberty. I'm not sure if you're amazingly lucky or amazingly unfortunate for that."**

"I'm dead?"

Memories flashed into Naruto's head. Suddenly the surroundings changed, as if it were a genjutsu.

Naruto saw/remembered the confrontation between him and the men. He saw the punches forcing his body into the ground, the kicks once he was there. As his own image passed out, the entire scene faded into darkness.

"What was that?"

"**This is your mindscape, kit. You can view your memories here. And by the way, you're not dead. Well not anymore. Your heart stopped beating for a short period of time before I was able to start it up again." **

The thing yawned, and suddenly the cage lit up. Inside was a gigantic orange fox, but the oddest thing was that it had nine tails.

_Wait, nine-tails?_

"Y-y-you're the…'

"**Kyuubi no kitsune, yeah yeah, lord of the tailed demons, yada yada yada, and all that crap. Don't gimme that stuff, whenever I see a human and try to have a civilized conversation that's all they can say. Besides, I'm, um, er… kinda stuck with you, whether you like it or not."** Sounding somewhat embarrassed, the giant fox pointed to a set of seals around the edge of the cage. **"Someone sealed me into you. Your Yondaime Hokage, if I'm not mistaken."**

"Wait, why did you attack Konoha eleven years ago?"

"**Um, yeah, about that… I was kinda asleep at the time. Sleepwalking, if you will. It's been a bad habit for me for the last few centuries. It's not my fault if I happened to stumble into a village or two in my sleep, and I accidentally destroy stuff. Erm, whatever. Your body has healed sufficiently for you to regain consciousness. Bye."**

Naruto sweat-dropped.

_So that's why the villagers hate me, huh? A giant misunderstanding involving a semi-insomniatic giant demon fox, a large ninja village, and one of the best ninja's Konoha ever produced. Wow, Kami must really hate me or something. But… Kyuubi's hiding something. I can feel it. Oh well…_

The room began to glow white, getting brighter and brighter until only white could be seen.

* * *

Kage looked in the bathroom mirror. His eyes looked exactly the same. He focused for a moment and began to channel chakra into his eyes. Kage saw his pupils expand until they covered his iris. The whites of his eyes were still present, though.

"Whoa…"

His field of vision had expanded dramatically. Kage thought he could see almost everything around him… well not quite. There was probably around a 45 degree hole in the very back. His hand twitched, knocking over his toothbrush, straight in the direction of the toilet.

In slow motion, Kage saw the toothbrush slowly revolving, each bristle of the toothbrush distinct in his vision. His hand reached out and snatched the toothbrush out of the air, moments before it fell in piss. Oddly, his hand seemed to move in regular time, when everything else was moving slowly. _Does that mean I'm moving or perceiving everything faster than usual, or that everything else has slowed down and I'm at regular speed?_

"Hmmm… whatever." He put his toothbrush back, flushed the toilet. As he was washing his hands, he realized the cut on his left forearm was gone, leaving a long scar on his forearm.

He was past being surprised for one day, so he shrugged and walked back into the living room.

* * *

Kage saw that Naruto was now conscious, _and_ fully healed.

"I see you've finally woken up. Took you long enough, lazy-ass."

"Nii-san… shut the hell up."

"How originally scathing… how much do you remember?"

"…everything…I could have died…and OH SHIT where are those guys?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. You did. And so did they." Kage added, completely nonchalant.

"Oh, and by the way…" Kage slapped Naruto on the back of his head. "We've sparred before. You could have taken those guys. What happened?"

"I…hesitated…I didn't really think they would do anything."

"Humph. That'll get you in some hot water.

"That's rich, coming from a guy who has fevers of 50 C **(122 Fahrenheit)**. And what's up with those eyes?" Naruto retorted.

Kage got a guilty/embarrassed look. "Um, hehe, oops. Forgot to cancel it." He did so, stopping the chakra flow to his eyes. "I guess it's a kekkei genkai. Never heard of it before."

Typically, one of the first things they did in the library was look up genealogy of the ninja families in Konoha. As kekkei genkai were genetic, one had to be a member of a certain family to use it, so as orphans it was their best bet to see if they had any relatives. It had been a fruitless search. Neither of them had been able to use Shadow Possession, Partial Expansion, Mind Jutsus, the Byakugan, or the Sharingan. Those were pretty much the main kekkei genkai.

"Damn, nii-san. Is this puberty or something? You get a cool kekkei genkai and kill five guys and what do I get?"

"Um, I dunno, maybe the ability to die and come back to life? Duh…"

"Oh, yeah. That is kinda kickass if you think about it." Naruto made his thumbs up pose.

Kage sweat-dropped.

"Kay, this is some freaky shit. You die and come back to life, and I get an original kekkei genkai. I'm gonna hit the sack and hope it's a dream."

When they both woke up the next morning, they found it wasn't a dream. That would be too fortunate.

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Okay class, I'd like you to meet our two newest members." A man with a scar running across the bridge of his nose spoke.

"What the hell, Iruka-sensei?" A boy with a painted red fang on each cheek yelled. His dog barked in agreement. "Everyone in here has been here for the last two years, and two dobes think they can just walk in and graduate by the end of this year?" **(It takes three years of academy to graduate)**

There were murmurs around the classroom agreeing with him. A boy with black hair set in a chicken butt style was one of those who stayed silent.

Anyone who the academy would let do that would have to be strong.

He needed strength.

"Kiba, watch your language. And while I would normally agree with you, I don't this time, given the circumstances. These two have had… special endorsement…from the ANBU captain."

_Strong indeed…_ the emo boy thought.

"Anyways, meet your two newest classmates," Iruka continued, "Uzumaki Naruto and… Kage."

Kage was the first to walk in. He didn't really care what others thought of him, but decided it was best not to make a negative impression, especially since most people judged on appearance rather than personality. He wore plain black pants, slacks actually, the dark fabric blending in well with his kunai/shuriken pouch. For his shirt he wore simply a red t-shirt. Completing his outfit he wore a red headband tied around his forehead. He had short black hair, his bangs short enough that they never got in his eyes.

The oddest thing about him, though, was he wore a blade on his left hip. It had the shape of a kunai, but it was the size of a katana, almost a meter long. On one face of the blade, an image of a nine-tailed fox was etched into the metal. On the other side of the blade, an image of a fire-breathing dragon adorned the face. The tint of the metal was black, far blacker than standard weapons and held a slight tint of red along the etches.

He looked around the room, coolly appraising its occupants. He saw members of all the major ninja families of Konoha. Kage snorted. "Where do I sit?"

Iruka pointed to a seat, ironically next to a pink haired girl. Kage walked over and sat down. He tilted the chair back so it was balanced on two legs. "Name's Kage. Yours?"

"Baka, do you think you're cool like Sasuke-kun!" The pink haired girl screamed. She punched him in the head, but right before her fist impacted his image shimmered, revealing another black-haired boy. Unable to stop her fist, the girl punched her idol in the face.

"Gah, what the hell Sakura-ama **(bitch)**?" Sasuke made his anime-angry face while Sakura sweat-dropped.

"That certainly wasn't very nice." Kage said from across the room, where Sasuke was sitting before. "Just trying to get a name… maybe an address. Wasn't like I was trying to cop a feel." He smirked. "Yet."

"Pervert!" Now he had an angry blonde fangirl at his side, trying to punch him too. Kage did another Kawarimi No Jutsu **(Body Replacement Jutsu)**, replacing himself again with Sasuke, making the emo receive another punch in the face. As Sakura tried to punch Kage again from his new position, she found herself punching Kiba.

Now Kage was calmly sitting next to a girl with short black hair, with just a tint of blue.

"That… was absolutely pathetic. Kawarimi is a _genin_ skill. If any of you three are representative of your class's skill… I might just commit seppuku **(suicide by disembowelment)**." The girl next to him giggled softly. Kage smiled gently at her. "I would ask your name, but I wouldn't like to cause another scene…"

"Hinata. Hyuga Hinata."

"Kage. Nice to meet you."

He pulled his red headband over his eyes and leaned back in his chair, two legs off the ground.

"Sensei, I refuse to sit in my previous seat because of the hostility." He stated calmly.

_Body Replacement may be a genin level skill, but that's only if it's used on inanimate objects. Using it on another living being, particularly a human, requires at least high chunin or low jonin level chakra control._ A boy with dark shades and a heavy coat thought. _I wonder if he can use Shushin no Jutsu_…

"Fine. And our other student. Uzumaki Naruto—"

Iruka walked in threw the doors. "Sorry I'm late, guys, I… HEY, WHO ARE YOU?" He pointed at the Iruka standing in front of the classroom.

"I'M UMINO IRUKA! WHY ARE YOU IMPERSONATING ME?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! I'M THE REAL UMINO IRUKA!" The Iruka who just walked in shouted back.

"SHUT UP!" The Iruka already in the class screamed. "YOU'RE JUST AN IMPOSTOR!"

"BAKA!"

"TEME!"

"DOBE!"

"LIAR!"

By this point, they were both in each other's faces screaming. The door-Iruka sighed.

"Okay, screaming isn't going to get us anywhere. I will let _my _class decide who the real Iruka is. Since you think you're the real Iruka, there should be any problem, right? We will each stand on opposite sides of the classroom, and each student will go to the side that they think has the real me."

_Damn… he played me. No way to back out now._ He thought.

He turned to face the class. "Okay, you heard me. Choose." When no one moved he yelled. "**NOW!**"

Each student slowly chose a side.

Sakura thought about how the late Iruka was the first to calm down, and also how he took charge in deciding how they would resolve this. She decided that he had to be the real Iruka, so she went to his side of the room. Ino, the long haired blonde, came to the same conclusion.

_This is so troublesome…_ A boy with his hair set like a pineapple thought. _On one hand, it seems like the new Iruka is the real one, but if he were truly an imposter then his outrage would be an act, and he could calm down easily. On the other hand, the Iruka who was here first could have stayed angry longer because he really an imposter. Man, this is so troublesome. _He raised his hand. "Iruka sensei, I decline to choose-."

Both Irukas frowned. "On what grounds?" One asked. "Why?" Asked the other.

"On the grounds that it's too troublesome."

Everyone in the class sweat-dropped.

Choji decided he didn't like the way the new Iruka's appraising eyes shifted around from student to student. He went to the side of the first Iruka.

"Hnn." _Damn, I wish I had my Sharingan._ Sasuke thought. Just to stay away from his two biggest fangirls, he went to the first Iruka's side.

Various other members of the class slowly began to choose sides. **(Remember, there are more ninja here than just the rookie nine, they just aren't able to become genin in the Academy final test.)** The majority of students chose the second Iruka.

Finally, there were only four students left, Kage, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino.

Kiba was murmuring to Akamaru, his dog, although puppy would be a more accurate term. "Smells like a what? That doesn't even make any sense!" The tiny puppy yipped. "Fine." He walked over to the first Iruka. Silently, Shino followed him.

And then there were two. Kage raised his hand. "I decline to choose on the basis that I am sleeping."

Everyone thought_ Holy crap, that's a worse excuse than Shikimaru's. _

"Byakugan." Hinata murmured. With her increased field of vision, she saw Kage start, his chair slamming onto all fours, and she vaguely wondered why he was surprised by her kekkei genkai. She ignored him, focusing on the two Iruka's chakra coils. The first Iruka's coils looked normal, a little diminished, but normal. She shifted her focus to the second Iruka's coils. They were small, the size of a adolescent's. Hinata looked deeper to see how much chakra the imposter had. The shy heiress winced. It was like looking into the sun! She deactivated her Byakugan and walked over to the first Iruka.

The second Iruka smiled and looked around at the students around him. "That's everyone, huh? Well congratulations! You all… FAIL EPICALLY! IF I WAS AN ENEMY NINJA YOU WOULD ALL BE DEAD!"

The real Irula smiled. "Well, we've finally gotten that sorted out. I must admit that was a very good henge. Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?"

The false Iruka smiled, and poofed, a grayish cloud surrounded him. When the mist settle, a beautiful blonde woman was in his place. A beautiful, _naked_ blonde woman. "Who's Naruto? How bout just you and me?" she murmured seductively. "We can have far more _fun_ if we're alone."

This caused Iruka to fly backwards due to the force of the nosebleed he just got. Many other males in the class, and oddly some females also spouted blood from their noses.

"Nii-san, knock it off." Kage was back in his position, leaning back in his chair with his headband still over his eyes.

The woman pouted. "Fine." She _poofed_ again. Now in her pace was a blonde boy, his spiky hair sticking up randomly. Bright, vibrant blue eyes scanned the classroom around him, flickering over the students, the teachers, the walls, the ceilings. He had a broad smile on his face, but if one looked closely, the smile didn't reach his eyes. Of all things, he wore a bright orange jumpsuit, complete with bright orange pants. They practically screamed, "KILL ME." No one other than Kage knew that the jacket and pants could both be turned inside-out to reveal a blackened camouflage pattern. Naruto, along with Kage, had been chased by ANBU numerous times for various reasons, and had picked up a great deal of stealth skills along the way.

Naruto wore his shuriken and kunai holster on his right thigh for easy access. He also kept a number of kunai concealed about his person in case he ever lost his holster or needed to surprise an opponent.

Iruka sweat-dropped. He was going to have one hell of a year with these two additions. It was hard enough dealing with the stupidity from Sasuke's fangirls, and now it looked like this Kage was growing his own group of fangirls. Add a prankster into the mix and what do you get?

_Therapy. I'm gonna need so much therapy. Hmm, I wonder if Inochi-san will give me a discount since I taught his daughter?_

"Okay everyone back to your seats." There was a collective mumbling, and several glares at Naruto for making them look like fools.

Everyone returned to their original seats, and Naruto chose to sit at Kage's table, next to Hinata.

"Ohayo nii-san. Funny seeing you here." Naruto smirked at Kage.

"Baka. You shifted your eyes around too much. Other than that, it was perfect, given you bullshitted that on the spot." Kage said. Naruto smiled back, a true smile this time.

"I know. So what's your name?"

"H-Hinata Huh-Hy-Hyuga."

"Uzumaki Naruto. And don't worry, you won't forget it."

_I don't think I will either_. Hinata thought.

* * *

**(A/N: Sorry if the characters seemed a little too mature for their age, but what do you expect if you've been living on your own from an early age?)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Fights

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**So far I'm not sure what the pairings will be…**

**Vote on my profile for parings for the characters, or leave me a message via PM.**

**I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own my OC, Kage, a dog, and a rather illegal but very much badass jian I bought in Chinatown.**

**NEW: I now have a character bio on my profile for Kage)**

**12/5/09**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Fights

To say Kage and Naruto had issues getting used to Academy life would be an understatement.

It wasn't that they didn't get along with the other students, oh no.

Most students avoided interaction with Naruto at all costs, for the fantastic and completely logical reason of because their parents told them so. Why? Because their parents told them so. A few kids tried to mess with Naruto, early on in the year. They're still undergoing psychiatric treatment to help them with their trauma.

However, all the students (however few) who did socialize with Naruto treated him well (oddly enough, it seemed that it was mostly the children of shinobi who had the last prejudice against the blonde). It was actually hard not to get along with the energetic blue-eyed boy. Because of his innate charisma, his smile was just contagious. But his face was a mask. Whether or not Naruto was truly happy at the moment had no effect on his ever-present shit-eating grin. There were few things that actually made him unhappy, however. Naruto had a friend and they considered each other brothers in all ways possible, regardless of lack of relation. He and Kage were always looking out for each other. To Naruto, why the hell would he need to earn the acknowledgement of people who clearly _don't_ give a shit about him? If someone wanted to actually talk to him and get to know him before deciding what he was, then Naruto was all for making a new friend, but if not…well, the others could go fuck themselves with the sharp end of a kunai. Still, sometimes it made Naruto a little sad when he considered the fact that if people actually took the chance to get to know him, he would probably be on very good terms with just about every single person he'd every meet.

Naruto preferred to hide his internal pain with a bright smile. The few students who taunted Naruto soon found themselves on the end of terribly embarrassing pranks, anyways. Traumatizing his peers was honestly one of the highlights of Naruto's days. _Oh well. If they break that easily they shouldn't really have any business becoming ninja anyways. Although, I must say that trick Kage-nii-san did with the cowbell and the chainsaw was quite cruel…but also quite hilarious. To us, of course._

Due to his antics, his calm and uncaring demeanor, Kage had quickly amassed a large number of fangirls. Naruto and Kage were both at the stage during which the workings of the female mind was a complete mystery (little did they know, they would likely remain at that stage for the rest of their lives, as did most men). Unfortunately for him, Kage happened to attract girls like vinegar attracts flies (which, oddly, it does a better job than a bowl of sugar, contrary to popular belief). Like Sasuke, Kage generally turned down all of their advances, but he wasn't cruel or demeaning about it. He just didn't feel like getting into a relationship. Few people knew that his stoicism was really a mask; Kage just had control of his expressions. Early on, he learned that showing emotions were more trouble than they were worth. If you showed that you were happy with something, people would take it away from you, if you showed that a particular taunt aggravated you, people repeated it. Kage's cynicism was a result of his upbringing on the streets, but he, too, quickly got along with the other students.

The two brothers and Sasuke quickly developed an intense hatred of each other. Naruto and Kage disliked the Uchiha's arrogance and the way he demeaned everyone with his superiority complex. Sasuke hated them for the way he ignored his status completely. However, to be precise, Naruto and Kage didn't _exactly_ hate Sasuke. He lacked so many positive human qualities that it was difficult to hate him as a human being. No, Naruto and Kage's feelings were closer to disgust, very much like the way one might be disgusted by an open sewer full of waste or a heaping pile of manure in the middle of a street.

"This is a challenge match; winner takes the place of top of the class…"

After the first week, Iruka announced that the students would now be able to challenge each other to start taking positions in the class hierarchy. Making a challenge was optional, but turning down a challenge was considered as surrender. The only two students required to fight were Naruto and Kage, seeing as they were unranked yet. Sasuke, being an asshole, decided to challenge Kage, even though the Uchiha had nothing to gain by the match. Naruto decided to challenge the boy named Kiba. He would have liked to challenge Sasuke after Kage kicked his ass, but a person was limited to a single match per day.

So far, the top eight positions were as such:

1. Uchiha Sasuke  
2. Inuzuka Kiba  
3. Aburame Shino  
4. Hyuga Hinata  
5. Yamanaka Ino  
6. Akimichi Choji  
7. Haruno Sakura  
8. Nara Shikamaru

"…This will be a standard Academy taijutsu spar, between Kage and Uchiha Sasuke. No ninjutsu, genjutsu, stored fuinjutsu, or weapons are allowed…."

Kage and Sasuke faced off in the sparring ring, neither blinking, neither moving.

"Eye gouging and crotch shots are prohibited. Any violation will result in disqualification and thus defeat. You may begin." Iruka said. _And please try to remember that you're not out here to kill each other._

The class watched, breathless, as they watched the two combatants.

Suddenly Kage smirked and pulled down his red headband so that it covered his eyes. He laid down on his back, as if he were sleeping.

"You may attack at any time, teme **(bastard)**." Kage lazily flipped the bird in Sasuke's general direction.

The entire class gasped, with the exception of Naruto and a few others. Many of the students gathered around Naruto, asking him whether they thought Kage would survive. After all, Sasuke was not particularly known for going easy on his opponents, though that was not necessarily a bad thing. Naruto smirked, completely confident in his brother's skills, and merely said, "Watch."

"N-Naruto-kun, i-is th-th-that wa-wi-wise?"

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. He's just playing with the teme."

_He called me Hinata-_chan! Hinata thought, and promptly fainted.

Naruto was able to catch her before she hit the ground. He looked at her and felt her forehead, concluding that she must have a fever or something.

Sasuke jumped and slammed his feet down at Kage's head, but Kage whipped his neck to the side, avoiding the blow. Crouching, the Uchiha threw two punches, only for them to be caught by Kage's open palms. Twisting his body, Kage placed both of his feet on Sasuke's kneecaps and pushed, causing his body to roll away from Sasuke. As his roll slowed down, Kage gave himself one more revolution so that he was lying on his back again.

Naruto started snickering, clearly trying to hold his laughter in. Many of the other students were just staring in shock. A few students went through the handsigns to release a genjutsu and murmured, "Kai," but nothing happened.

From his time as a thief, Kage had developed amazing dexterity in his hands. It was useful for quickly creating hand signs for jutsu… and other, less mature uses. Having lived with Kage for several years, Naruto knew he could move his hands so quickly you wouldn't notice it unless you were paying extreme attention.

Sasuke started to take a step towards Kage… and promptly fell on his face. His shoelaces were tied together.

Shino murmured to Naruto, who was now failing miserably to contain his amusement. "Sasuke is outclassed, isn't he?" Naruto nodded. Sakura happened to look over and saw Shino smiling ever so slightly.

Sasuke hissed in annoyance and began untying his shoelaces, retying them to the correct shoe. Kage lifted his headband back up and stood up, and the two combatants immediately began to circle each other. He saw the _How?_ on Sasuke's face. "Hawk stance, really now? There's only a few opening strikes, and only one set for a downed opponent. By lying down I forced you to do exactly that strike set, assuming you didn't change on me. Because I knew exactly what you would do, I didn't need to see. I mean, seriously, you're at the top of this class?"

_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. First Shino smiles and now Sasuke-kun is looking stupid! It must be a genjutsu! _Sakura whipped out a senbon and stabbed herself in the leg, her screams of pain startling everyone and waking Hinata up.

Iruka immediately stopped the match to attend to Sakura, who had fainted. He concluded that she was in very little danger; she wouldn't even need any stitches. He turned around just in time to see Sasuke drop into a different stance and charge Kage. Iruka promptly dropped the pink-haired girl back onto the floor. Her forehead slammed into the floor, and many students winced in sympathy for the latter. [1]

"Hey, I didn't say you two could continue!"

The two fighters ignored their sensei and continued to trade blows. Sasuke appeared to be pushing Kage back, but if one paid attention one could see none of Sasuke's blows were coming close to landing, and that Kage was spending most of his time watching and analyzing Sasuke's fighting style rather than retaliating.

"N-Naruto-kun, d-did I m-m-miss any th-thing?"

"Nah, Kage tied Sasuke's shoelaces together and he tripped. Oh, and Sakura stabbed herself. Watch this; Kage's almost done messing around."

Kage blocked a kick and slammed his fist into Sasuke's chest, missing his solar plexus but still knocking the wind out of him. Instead of pressing his advantage, he backed up to analyze his opponent's style.

_This style is not one I have ever studied… I'm sure it's the Uchiha's private style, since it wasn't available in the public shinobi library. Only my quick reactions are keeping me in this fight. Hmmm… he seems to pull his kicks close to his body, so if someone blocks it opens them up for a punch… I guess I'll pull a Naruto: If there's a trap, walk right into it!_

Sasuke tried a snap kick which Kage blocked with the back of his forearms. For the first time in the match, Sasuke smiled, starting a punch at Kage's face. Seeing the punch approaching, Kage violently bent backwards, Sasuke's strike barely brushing his nose. Making a T shape with his body, with one leg as the stand, one leg as one side of the T, and his upper body as the other side, Kage's foot whipped up and caught the Uchiha's throat.

Sasuke staggered back fell to his knees; his hands on his throat as he gasped for air. Kage returned his body to an upright position. With the tip of his foot, he shoved Sasuke over and planted his foot in Sasuke's back, right over the Uchiha fan.

Iruke raised a hand. "Winner: Kage." He walked over the Sasuke to make sure his windpipe hadn't been irrevocably crushed.

The classroom went wild with cheering. It had been an amazing match. The guys in the classroom weren't sorry to see Sasuke get what he deserved given the way he acted. As for the girls…well, about half of Sasuke's fangirls (aka, the entire female class defected over to Kage. There was probably only one girl in the entire classroom who was actually serious about becoming a kunoichi, and her affections were not directed at either black-haired boy.

Grinning, Kage walked back to Naruto and Hinata. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"Took you long enough, Nii-san." Naruto said, half teasing and half serious.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I had no reason to end it quickly. That would be boring. I had to mess with him a little, probably because I'm so immature—"

"You got that right."

"Pffft. Like you could talk. You're just as immature as me."

"True. Guess it's time for my match. Wish me luck!" Naruto began to take off his orange jacket, wearing just a black t-shirt underneath.

"G-g-good l-luck, Naruto-kun."

"You don't need it." Kage added nonchalantly. As Naruto walked off to the center of the stage, Kage nudged Hinata. "Hey Hinata, don't faint during Naruto's fight. He's amaaaazing." He dragged out the last word.

"A-A-Ano (**um**),…" Hinata stuttered.

Kage laughed. "Ahaha, just kidding. You don't have to answer that; I'm just messing with you." He knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto, hell, the entire class knew, with the exception of Naruto (and probably Sasuke, but that was most likely because he was too busy brooding). Everyone basically decided not to tell Naruto, just to let him figure it out on his own.

Hinata blushed redder than a tomato, but she managed not to faint. Across the classroom, Kiba set down Akamaru and walked towards the center.

"This is a challenge match; winner takes the place of second rank of the class…"

"…This will be a standard Academy taijutsu spar, between Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto. No ninjutsu, genjutsu, stored fuinjutsu, or weapons are allowed. Eye gouging and crotch shots are prohibited. Any violation will result in disqualification and thus defeat. Basically, same rules as last match apply. Any questions?" Iruka asked.

"Yes." Said Kiba, sniffing the air. "There is the faintest trace of Kage's scent on your knuckles. You guys spar?" Naruto nodded. "Then you're probably about as good as him, yeah? Can't hold back then. May I use my claws, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka frowned, but nodded. "Very well, but slashing at his throat or eyes is prohibited. His face and the rest of his body are acceptable targets. Anymore questions? You may begin." Iruka jumped out from between Naruto and Kiba.

The two began to circle each other slowly. "It's nothing personal. You want to win; I want to win, but only one person can win. I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to give up?"

"Nah. I don't give up, and I never break my word. That's my nindo: my ninja way."

"That's cool, man. Just had to ask." Kiba replied.

"Meh, it's no probl—" Naruto interrupted the rhythm of his own words and attacked, trying to catch Kiba off guard.

Naruto rushed in and began to trade blows with Kiba. The Inuzuka dodged the wild haymaker Naruto threw but failed to notice the body shot that struck him in the side of his ribs. Undeterred, Kiba turned his flinching momentum into a leg sweep, and Naruto's back hit the floor. Clawed fingers shot downwards as Kiba lunged, but Naruto kicked upwards and connected with Kiba's stomach with both feed, throwing him over his head. The blonde boy quickly got to his feet, his opponent doing the same, and they both charged again.

Naruto got a more few glancing blows in on Kiba when the Inuzuka clawed his side. Grunting in pain, Naruto forced himself to do a jumping roundhouse kick to Kiba's face, his wound burning in pain. Kiba stumbled away and lost his footing, falling to the floor.

Kiba stood up, the room spinning crazily around him. He prepared himself for another attack.

_Damn, he's fast. Not as fast as Kage, but those claws make up for it. He really only needs to get a glancing blow and it still deals a lot of damage. What should I do?_

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have the time to think as Kiba rushed him.

With his open palm, Naruto caught Kiba's left jab at his solar plexus. Unable to dodge, Naruto was forced to grab Kiba's right hook at his face by the wrist. With his grips on Kiba's fist and wrist, Naruto pulled Kiba into a head slam, slamming his forehead into Kiba's face once, twice. Kiba dropped like a stone.

Iruka raised his hand. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto." A quick glace revealed that Kiba was only unconscious, at worst; he would have a headache the next day.

This time, there was no applause. The class was stunned at the speed and efficiency with which Naruto dispatched Kiba. It had been a startlingly short fight, even more so at the fact that Kiba was considered the second-best fighter in the class, before today.

"N-Naruto-kun, ah-are y-you okay?" Hinata asked. "The c-cut w-wa-w-wasn't t-too d-deep, was it?"

"W-what, um, yea—" Naruto stuttered. _Oh shit, it's already healed, what do I say?_

"Please, Hinata. Kiba wasn't even close to scratching Naruto. He had at least three and a half hairsbreadths of leeway." Kage cut in jokingly, trying to lie as smoothly as possible. The last thing either of them needed was for Hinata to activate her Byakugan to determine if they were lying. Neither knew how skilled she was with her family's blood limit, and this was most certainly not the case to find out.

"Oh, okay. I'm glad you're n-not hurt, N-Naruto-kun."

_Phew… that was too close. It's a good thing I'm wearing a black shirt. If I wore any other color, or I left my jumpsuit on, Hinata would see the blood. Then she would wonder how my wound healed, and I don't think she would be satisfied with just a 'trust me' like Kage. I don't want anyone to know just yet about the Kyuubi no Kitsune…I know that nii-san trusts me. He trusts me enough that he's trying to protect my secret, even though he doesn't even know himself what it is…_

"Alright class, you're excused for the day. Take the weekend off and have fun. I'll see you on Monday."

"Alright! In honor of our victory, I'll pay for dinner tonight for us three." Naruto said, indicating himself, Hinata, and Kage.

"Let me guess, ramen at Ichiraku's?" Kage asked dryly.

"What else?"

"Whatever."

"What about you, Hinata-chan? You up for it?" Naruto asked.

"Ano, I w-would l-l-love t-to g-g-go, N-N-Narut-t-to-k-kun" Hinata stammered out.

"Great. You won't regret it!"

The trio began to walk towards the door in order to get out first. Most of the other students were milling around in the classroom chatting about the two fights.

As they were five feet from the door, Naruto stiffened as he felt a large release of chakra.

"Sasuke, no!" Iruka yelled.

"Damn it, no one makes a fool of me! Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)**!" Sasuke screamed, running through handseals and blowing a fireball two feet in diameter at them.

The classroom immediately broke out in a panic, the sea of children making it difficult for Iruka to get to the door. Abruptly, he tripped, the crowd swallowing him underneath a barrage of feet.

Kage, being in the middle of the trio, shoved Naruto and Hinata off to each side, turning around to face the fireball.

"Kage-kun, move!"

"Not yet…" the brown-eyed boy murmured. _Twenty five feet… fifteen feet…_ He mentally counted off the distance in his head as he played a deadly game of Chicken with the fireball.

_Ten feet… five feet… two feet… NOW!_

Kage executed a kawarimi, switching places with Sasuke. The boy had no time to react, recall his chakra, or cancel his jutsu before the flames collided with his shoulder and upper chest. The Uchiha screamed as his flesh was burnt by his own jutsu. He fell to the floor for the third time that day, moaning in agony at the searing pain he felt.

Kage calmly walked back to the door. When he got to the moaning body, he crouched down and grabbed Sasuke's wounded shoulder, elicting a whimper of pain. Kage bent his head to his ear and whispered.

"As an Uchiha, you should learn this: If you play with fire long enough, sooner or later you're going to get burnt. Pull a stunt like this again and I'll kill you."

Gripping the hair at the back of Sasuke's head, Kage lifted his head up and slammed his forehead into the ground with a solid _thud_. Leaving Sasuke's unconscious body on the floor, Kage stood up and continued to walk towards the door.

Of everyone in the classroom, only Naruto and Hinata clearly saw what had transpired.

"Baka. You scared the crap out of us." Naruto spat, though obviously relieved that Kage was apparently unhurt.

"Kage-kun, are you alright?" Hinata asked. Kage turned to face her, grinning. Before he could speak, Hinata's eyes widened as she saw his doujutsu.

"K-Kage-kun, your eyes, a-are…" Hinata stammered.

"What? Aw, crap." Kage cursed. _I thought that fireball was moving a little slowly. Well that's one more secret I just blew_. "I'll tell you about it over dinner. At least we won't be plagued by small talk, ne?" He joked.

* * *

A panicked crowd was almost impossible to calm down. A panicked crowd of children, even less so. Several minutes later, Iruka got to Sasuke's downed body. The chunin easily deduced what had happened.

_About time someone put this little shit in his place_.

Technically, though, such a report would cause nothing but trouble. The council was infatuated with their little Uchiha pet. Iruka smiled a rare, evil smile. Officialy, Sasuke had been attempting a Katon jutsu, which misfired and burnt its user. In pain, Sasuke then tripped and hit his head on the ground. The most perfect part of the plan, though, was that Sasuke could not deny it without admitting he had just assaulted three other students.

Yes, that was exactly what happened. After all, accidents happen to the best of us, don't they?

* * *

**A/N: **

**[1]: Yeah, you read that right. I pity the floor!**

**Get it? Like Mr. T's "I pity the fool". Aha…ha…*looks from side to side nervously*. Uh…sorry. That was pretty bad. I'll try to keep my jokes a bit less corny.**

**Well there it is. This is my first hand-on-hand combat fight scene. For those of you who understand traditional martial arts, Kage uses the Long Ying style [literally Dragon style, look for more information on my profile]. I had Naruto basically using a more impact-oriented verson of defendu [look it up], cause honestly, he seems like kind of a brawler in the manga and anime rather than a detached fighter.**

**I'm really getting tired of writing Hinata stuttering, so I think I'll break her of that habit in a few chapters. Or maybe not. Who knows.**

**Whatever. Review with your feedback on the fight scene please.**


	4. Chapter 4: Last Days at the Academy

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**So far I'm not sure what the pairings will be…**

**Vote on my profile for parings for the characters, or leave me a message via PM.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**NEW: I now have a character bio on my profile for Kage**

**Also, I'm working on a NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I'll probably post it on the 24 and 25 of December.**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**12/21/2009**

* * *

Chapter 4: Academy Days

The Genin Exams were getting closer and closer, but Naruto, Kage, and Hinata were not worried at all. They were absolutely confident in their skills.

After the first week of school, Naruto, Kage, and Hinata had become great friends. Originally Naruto and Kage thought that Hinata was nothing like them; they were orphans and she was the heiress of one of the most prestigious clans of Konoha. But the two brothers quickly found that they had much in common with the shy lavender-eyed girl. Although she still had a father, he treated her coldly and barely acknowledged her. The only parental love she ever got was from her mother, who died after childbirth when Hinata was six. Since then, Hiashi had pushed both of his daughters ruthlessly, never giving them any form of affection. Even so, Hinata had turned out to be a remarkably kind and caring person. However, she did have a quite a bit of an inferiority complex from constant put-downs, and as a result, Hinata's mindset affected her actions to the point where the only reason she failed at something was because she believed she would fail.

Naruto and Kage decided to help their new friend. After all, they were already training, so why not invite one more? Under their relentless but kind teaching, Hinata's skills quickly advanced to the point where she could hold her own with Naruto or Kage (without his doujutsu activated).

Kage had finally decided to name his kekkei genkai the Kokugan **(Black Eye)** as an antipode to the Hyuga's Byakugan **(White Eye)**. Honestly, he thought it fit; those with Byakugan had irises and pupils that looked almost entirely white, his Kokugan made his iris and pupil completely black. And it made for a lot of good puns! Speaking of which, Kage also told Hinata a little bit of what he knew about his doujutsu. Basically, it was a mix of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. It expands his field of vision to approximately 315 degrees and allows him to see a person's chakra network, along with some tenketsu. It also allows him to process things and act amazingly quickly; making it seem like everything else is moving in slow motion compared to him.

Hinata confirmed that there were no clans in Konoha to ever display such traits. She agreed that it might be a completely new kekkei genkai, giving him the right to start a clan. Kage decided to wait a bit, he didn't want anyone on his ass for having a kekkei genkai and he sure as hell did not want anymore fangirls. So he continued to not use the Kokugan in public.

Also, Kage and Naruto decided to teach Hinata from a different taijutsu scroll. She was actually incredibly skilled at Juken, the style that utilized the Gentle Fist, but Academy spars banned the use of chakra in matches, preventing her from rising higher in the class. Besides, it would be useful in a real life situation if she ever ran out of chakra. So the two brothers selected a fighting style called Baguazhang, which was basically the same as Gentle Fist except it was impact oriented instead of chakra oriented. Hinata took to it like a duck to water, rising to second place in the class (behind Naruto, who had beaten Kage earlier; Kage preferred to focus on kenjutsu with his Kunai-katana rather than taijutsu.), she thought Naruto and Kage were fantastic teachers. They liked to think that Hinata was simply an amazing learner, given teacher(s) who didn't demean her, didn't yell at her for asking questions, and didn't hit her for making mistakes, but instead encouraged her to try again and never give up. In reality, it was probably a mixture of both.

Hinata wasn't too bad of a teacher herself. In return, Hinata helped Naruto and Kage on their chakra control. Chakra control was a specialty in the Hyuga clan, which was necessary given their utilization of chakra in their fighting style. Chakra control was hard to learn by trial and error, as mistakes often left the user exhausted for days. Unfortunately, trial and error was how Naruto and Kage learned just about everything they knew because so very few people who had spare time and sufficient skills were actually willing to teach them, and books and scrolls could only take them so far. With Hinata's tips, Naruto and Kage quickly improved their chakra control.

Kage used his newly improved chakra control to improve his fuinjutsu. Together, one Friday he and Naruto and painted the entire Hokage Monument using special sealed paint that could not be removed unless a certain set of handseals were made. They then managed to hide from ANBU and a large amount of Chunin and Jonin for over three days! Eventually they got caught at the Academy (it being a Monday) hanging out with Hinata at lunch. As ANBU was about to take all three of them in for questioning, Kage and Naruto quickly fessed up because they didn't want Hinata to get in trouble, and were promptly taken to the Hokage. The dog-masked ANBU accused them of permanent vandalism, as multiple methods, from paint remover to alcohol to soap to chipping it away with a kunai had all been attempted to remove the paint, but none had succeeded. Naruto and Kage just wished they could have seen the ANBU's face when they made five seals in synchronization and the paint faded away completely. When they returned to the Academy later that day, Hinata had been very worried about them and told them they shouldn't have confessed just to prevent her from getting in trouble. Naruto and Kage just told her that they'd feel bad if she got in trouble for something she didn't do.

For that prank at least. Under the two boy's incessant cajoling and begging, Hinata had finally agreed to join them in one of their pranks (painting Sakura's face at the time; for a would-be kunoichi, she was certainly a very deep sleeper). Once they had finished admiring their handiwork, all three burst out laughing. Hinata realized that she was actually having fun, something she got precious little of. Ever since them, she had joined Naruto and Kage on their many romps, her Byakugan a huge help in watching for witnesses. Hinata loved the exhilaration the act, as long as no one got hurt she loved pranking people.

Hinata's confidence had also risen as a result of many things. She was much more articulate about her thoughts, and hardly ever stuttered or fainted anymore. Hinata still had a crush on Naruto, who was still oblivious despite spending hours every day with her, and had yet to tell him.

Still, life was going well for the three young friends.

* * *

_At the Academy, lunch time_

Kage ran as fast he could. He could not slow down, or else _they_ would catch him. The Shinigami would be more merciful than _they_ would be. What was that? He could hear their screams of excitement at what they would do if they caught him. He saw Naruto and Hinata from the corner of his eye. BETRAYAL! They had betrayed him. And they were _smiling _about it! How could they?

Who were _his pursuers_? _They_ were the most insidious creatures on earth. _They_ did not give up. _They_ did not get tired. _They_ were fangirls. And _they_ were coming for Kage.

The black-haired boy whipped around the corner, desperately trying to get away from his pursuers. He ran towards an old tree with a decrepit swing hanging from a limb. Kage placed his hands on his knees as he panted and thought:

_I'm too tired to run anymore. I guess this place is as good as any to make my last stand. I guess I'll have to use _**it**_._

Kage formed several seals and slammed two hands into the ground.

"**Fuinjutsu: Chakra Kekkai (Sealing Art: Chakra Barrier)!"**

A light blue barrier flickered into place forming a protective dome around Kage. As in finally stabilized in the corporeal realm, the fangirls reached him. The girls tried to approach him, but were stopped by the solid barrier. Confused, they milled about until a fangirl screamed that he must be giving them a test, to see who was worthy to have his love. Kage shrugged. _Might as well go with it._ He thought. _It's not like they could get in._ Kage laid down and pulled his red headband over his eyes, and plugged his ears with earplugs he had bought as soon as he learned how loud a fangirl could be. Might as well take a nap.

The fangirls tried everything to get in, from punching through it trying to chip away at it with weapons. One girl even theorized that the barrier blocked clothes, so she stripped and tried to walk through the barrier. She was a bit overzealous, and slammed into it like one would slam into a brick wall.

Eventually, the fangirls gave up and left in search of easier prey. Winded with laughter, Naruto and Hinata finally walked over to Kage and got his attention as he pulled out his earplugs, and asked him to let them in. Kage raised the headband over one eye shot them an eff-you-you-left-me-out-to-dry-now-how-does-it-feel look and shook his head. He fell asleep immediately; the fangirls had been chasing him for hours.

Outside the barrier, Naruto turned to Hinata. "Hey Hinata-chan, I'm going to get us some lunch. Wanna come with?"

"Nah," she replied, staring at the seals. "I bet I could b-break through this." In truth, Hinata had two goals in life: get together with Naruto-kun and remove the Cursed Seal from the Hyuga Branch family. Hinata herself wasn't sure which was more important to her. She was too shy to be forward with Naruto, so she decided to work on the sealing issue. Kage had been helping her with fuinjutsu, but it still confused her most of the time.

Naruto nodded. "Sure. Lemme see his face when you do." He walked off.

She smiled. Even in this, Naruto believed in her. Hinata activated her Byakugan and studied the barrier. It appeared to be an artificial chakra construct, its structure being maintained by the containing force of the seal. It was only a quarter of an inch thick.

Hinata quickly did two quick Juken strikes. The chakra expelled from her hands punched holes in the barrier, but they quickly sealed back up. This gave Hinata an idea.

She did two more Juken strikes, but maintained her chakra output after contact. Using her hands, she pulled her hands apart in an opening motion, tearing a hole in the barrier as she did so. She stepped through the hole and released her chakra, and the tear repaired itself flawlessly. Hinata quickly turned around to make sure Kage was still asleep. He was. Hinata smiled.

Outside the barrier, she saw that Naruto had gotten back, holding three bags of food. She made a shush motion and gingerly began to lay down, inching closer and closer to Kage.

Now. _You're in my range, Kage-kun._

Hinata pounced.

She pinned his arms to his size and shrilly screamed in his ear.

Kage woke up, thinking it was a fangirl, and screamed, "DON'T RAPE ME!"

Hinata and Naruto instantly hit the ground laughing. Waking up fully, Kage realized he'd just been had. He scowled at his friends. "Ha ha ha. Very funny you two. Laugh it up."

He stared at the ground to hide his blush and started to undo the barrier. Secretly he was a little proud that Hinata was brave enough to try something like that, but mostly he was just embarrassed.

* * *

Almost ten minutes later they will still laughing, rolling around on the ground. "Hey, you guys? Hey, anyone there?"

"Shoulda—shoulda seen the…look on your…face!" Naruto gasped out between laughs. He managed to get back to his feet.

"Yes, I just wish I could have seen it." Kage said sardonically. "Now if we are done having a very good laugh at my expense…? Good." He turned to Hinata. "How'd you do that? I spent so long designing that barrier and you got through in, like, five minutes."

Hinata quickly explained how it was a chakra-based barrier, so she tried to use chakra to break through it. Kage almost hit himself at his own stupidity.

"Ah, of course! The barrier is made of chakra, so denser chakra can penetrate it! The density of the barrier was limited by Kotaru's second principle of chakra-torial instability in relevance to non-organic sources held in stasis. If I can, hhmmm, alter the matrix of the dimension the chakra is held in via transdimensional syntax modification, I can make the chakra it produces as dense as I want, as long as I don't exceed the radiation critical threshold to non-sympatric reception ratio!" Naruto and Hinata were both giving Kage WTF-is-he-talking-about look. "Then it really will be impenetrable! Thanks nee-chan, you're the best!"

"Um… okaaaay…?" It was painfully obvious neither Hinata nor Naruto understood half of what Kage just said.

_With Kage-kun's fuinjutsu skill, I'm sure he'll be able to help me when we finally take the Cursed Seal off of the branch members… wait, nee-chan? Since when did he call me that?_

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

Kage coolly walked out of the examination room.

"Well?" Naruto asked.

In answer, Kage reached into his back pocket and pulled out a red headband with a strip of metal in the middle. Carved into the headband was a leaf, the symbol of Konoha.

"Sweet. Nice job nii-san. What'd they test?" Naruto asked, tossing the headband back to his surrogate brother.

"Uh, kunai throwing, shuriken throwing, henge, and replacement. But I think it's slightly different for each person."

"He's right." Hinata added. "I had to dispel a genjutsu, throw shuriken, block shuriken thrown at me, and clones."

"Honestly, I think Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei are okay with it if you mess up a little on one of them. For the henge, I transformed into Iruka-sensei, and I completely screwed up his face. The color of his skin was off, the hair was too dark, and the scar was lopsided. Then again, I destroyed the other sections of the test."

* * *

_Flashback_

Kage was standing behind a table with twenty kunai laid out on it. He was facing a round target across the classroom, and looking on was Iruka and Mizuki.

"Okay Kage, on this part of the test you get twenty kunai, and you have to hit the bullseye with at least seventeen of them. You may not lean over the table, and you must throw all twenty kunai in one minute. Got it?" Iruka asked.

"No problem." Kage said. His hands blurred, and he quickly hurled a kunai into the dead center of the target one at a time, alternating between his left and right hand. As each kunai slammed into the wood, it split the one before it perfectly in half. After using the twentieth kunai to split the nineteenth, Kage drew his meter long kunai-katana and threw it, cutting the last kunai in half and impaling the target completely. Iruka and Mizuki were stunned. The last student to display such skill in projectiles had been Itachi Uchiha (and before that some girl who kept her brown hair in two buns atop her head).

"Very good, Kage. But why did you throw your blade at the end?" Iruka asked, marking in a perfect score in the correct column.

Kage scratched the back of his head. "Oh, heh heh, I guess I got a little worked up."

Iruka and Mizuki sweatdropped. Mizuki offered to leave the rest of the test to Iruka, saying that he doubted there would be any problems, and went to go get some more kunai and a new target for the next test.

_End Flashback _

* * *

"It was pretty simple for me." Hinata said. "Dispelling g-genjutsu is easy with the Byakugan. I did it in about three seconds."

Hinata had tied her headband around her neck, like a necklace. Worn like that, it accentuated instead of distracting people from what Naruto and Kage considered to be her best feature: her beautiful, pale lavender eyes. Not that either of them had the balls to say so to her, she'd probably just faint anyways.

"Yeah, I think I'll do fine, as long as they don't give me the Bushin test." Naruto shivered. He'd basically mastered every other damn thing, but somehow making clones escaped him.

"Dobe, don't be surprised if Iruka-sensei gives you the clone test just to see you fail. That's all you'll ever amount to, a failure." Sasuke taunted. He, too, had passed. So far, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Kage, Choji, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata had all passed.

Kage narrowed his eyes and made to move towards Sasuke, but Naruto grabbed his arm.

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Years of Uchiha inbreeding has finally given them a homosexual retard."

"N-Naruto-kun, that was awfully inconsiderate—" Hinata jokingly admonished. "—to homosexual r-retards."

Naruto put on a falsely contrite face. "Oh, you're right, Hinata-nee-chan. I should apologize!" He waved to Sakura. "Sorry Sakura!" Sakura screeched something in reply, and the three friends laughed.

Kage removed his red headband and tied his leaf headband around his forehead. It was tight enough to stay up if he started moving around, but loose enough for him to pull it over his eyes and sleep if he was bored. He threaded his regular red headband through the hole on his kunai-katana and knotted it, making a red tassel at the hilt of his sword for distracting enemies.

Iruka walked out of the examination room. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Good luck, nii-san." Said Kage. "Just don't panic. The hardest part is choosing what color headband you want."

"Good luck, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and followed Iruka inside.

Once inside, Iruka held out a box with folded cards. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but Mizuki isn't here right now because your brother destroyed all of our kunai and Mizuki has to go get more. Protocol states that if both examiners are not present to determine which tests to give the student, he or she must randomly draw cards to determine the tests. I'm sorry, I would never give you the clone test, but rules are rules. There's a two in three chance you _will_ draw the clone test."

Inside, Naruto was trembling, but on the outside he was still a cocky and confident. "Alright, no problem." He reached his hand into the box. _Please, Kami, give me this one favor. Do not let me draw the Clone jutsu test._

Naruto pulled out the card. It was the Clone test. _Make 3 realistic clones._

_DAMN IT!_

Just then, Mizuki walked into the room, holding a bunch of kunais balanced on a round target. "Did I miss anything?"

* * *

Naruto rushed out of the examination room with tears in his eyes, dashing right past Kage and Hinata.

"That was rather uncalled for, Iruka." Mizuki said, walking out of the examination room. "Failing him on the very first section? You could have at least given him the chance to make up for it on the other sections."

Iruka sighed. "Rules are rules, Mizuki. He had to have made at least one decent clone to even have a chance at making it up on the other sections."

Mizuki shrugged. "Regardless, I'm gonna go talk to him. I don't think he'd want to see you right now, even though you just did what you thought was the right thing to do." The _even if it wasn't_ was implied.

Mizuki jumped of in pursuit or Naruto.

"Kage-kun, is Naruto-kun alright?" Hinata asked, concerned. She felt terrible for Naruto; his dream just got shot down horrifically.

Kage was looking off in the direction Naruto had run off to. "I think he will be. He has the drive to keep getting back up when he gets knocked down. You can see the determination in his stare; look into his eyes and you can see the burning fire of his willpower." Kage stood up, his back facing Hinata. "I just hope it doesn't fry his brain." He muttered. Slightly louder: "I'm gonna go follow him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. See ya tomorrow."

Without waiting for a response, the black haired boy shimmered, revealing a random, confused civilian in his place. That was how he traveled: he rapidly used Replacement to switch places with people or things in between himself and his destination. It was slower than using a single Shushin to teleport himself there on the first time, but it was definitely faster than building-hopping or running.

The civilian looked around at his new surroundings. "Man, maybe everyone is right, I gotta stop doing drugs." The civilian shook his head and walked off.

* * *

Naruto sat on the edge of a building, thinking to himself. He just needed some time alone with his thoughts. Unfortunately, he felt Mizuki's presence approaching him and scowled before smoothing his face over into a more contemplative expression. The man hid his feelings well, but there was always something off about him. Naruto could tell Mizuki hated him with a passion, unlike Iruka, but for some reason he acted fairly nice, even when he could have gotten away with cruelty.

Call him paranoid, but this Naruto Uzumaki was no fool. Mizuki was biding his time, waiting for the right moment. Just as Naruto was, pretending to believe Mizuki was a caring person, waiting for him to make his move and reveal his true intentions.

"Ah, there you are, Naruto!" Mizuki said cheerfully. "I'd like to talk to you."

Naruto shrugged, keeping the disgust out of his voice. "Yeah, whatever." The man absolutely sucked at deception. You could hear the lies in his tone. Well, maybe only Naruto could with his advanced hearing.

"Iruka is a serious person. His parents were killed when he was young and he had to take care of everything himself." Mizuki explained. "He probably sees you as someone like himself. Iruka knows you really want to become a ninja, but he wants you to actually be strong enough for the title. How do you think he would feel if he passed you, knowing you didn't have the necessary skills, and died as a result? Try to understand his feelings."

Naruto gave a noncommittal grunt. Mizuki's words sounded so nice. Naruto began to doubt himself. Maybe Mizuki was trying to see past his hatred and see Naruto as a human being. "I still wish I passed, though." The blonde boy muttered.

Naruto abruptly felt Mizuki's stare rake over him. He suppressed a shiver.

"I guess I'll tell you a special secret then." Mizuki drawled.

Here it was. Naruto could feel it. All of Mizuki's actions were leading up to this point. _I should play dumb, for now._ "Huh?"

As Mizuki told Naruto about the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, neither was aware of a pair of dark brown eyes watching them.

* * *

_Some time later…_

Naruto made a mental note to himself to actually make the Hokage Tower somewhat secure when he became Hokage. He had practically waltzed right in! No guards, no security cameras, not even a trip wire! The Sandaime had been absentmindedly walking the corridor, but Naruto had pressed himself into a corner in the shadows and the Hokage had walked right by, obviously not expecting an intruder. From there, it had all been a downhill ride.

Naruto sat down in the forest and unraveled the Forbidden Scroll. Why the hell did it have to be so damn big?

_What's this? Shadow Clone Jutsu, huh? Hmm, very limited chakra control necessary. Well, I don't have a clone jutsu mastered, so this could come in handy…_

_Even more time later…_

* * *

"I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Iruka screamed as best as he could, panting.

_Okay, time to play dumb and dump all the blame on Mizuki-teme._ Naruto thought.

"He he he, you found me. I've only had time to learn one thing." Naruto said truthfully.

"Wait, why the hell would you do this, Naruto? I know you and Kage have pulled some serious pranks, but this is outrageous! Do you know that stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals is punishable by _death?_!"

Naruto knew, of course. But he could push all blame onto Mizuki here. Naruto knew that Mizuki was likely committing treason by 'tricking' Naruto into stealing the scroll. By playing along, Naruto could get a traitor caught, _and _learn a cool new technique. After that, play dumb, point fingers at Mizuki, and get off scot-free!

Plus, with the Shadow Clone technique, he'd definitely pass the Genin test next year! He felt bad, though, because Kage and Hinata would be a full year ahead of him.

"Huh, what do you mean, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto innocently asked. "Mizuki-sensei told me if I was able to steal the Forbidden Scroll without getting caught and learn a technique from it, then that would prove I have the skills required to be a ninja! And I did it! Can I graduate now, Iruka-sensei?"

Naruto had no illusions about Mizuki's empty promises. All Iruka would do now was rant at him a bit, take him home, and tell the Hokage about Mizuki's actions.

It all got shot to hell in two seconds.

A barrage of kunai, aimed at Iruka and Naruto, came flying out of the trees. Iruka slammed an open palm into Naruto's chest, pushing him out of the way as the kunai impaled Iruka, pinning him to a tree.

Mizuki stood out from atop a tree limb. "Well, Iruka, I never would have expected anyone to _not_ attack Naruto on sight. I was hoping someone would try to kill the brat and then I'd take out both of them, making it look like they both died."

"Mizuki." Iruka spat. "So…it _is _you. The, the accusations that you murdered one of your teammates on a mission…was it true?"

"Always so quick to catch up, just as always." Mizuki sneered. "Only in a pathetic, hypocritical village such as this can a shinobi be punished for doing his job well. _He_ was wounded, and slowing us down. I didn't want to terminate him, but I had no choice. I _ensured_ the success of the mission! We would have been caught if he insisted on staying with us, and then we would have all died. I should have been honored, not looked upon with suspicion for what I did!"

"And all that suspicion has made you do something like this?" Iruka yelled. "Don't you dare give me a sob story; other people have suffered much worse and have done nothing. We were _friends_, Mizuki! Please, stop this now! I can plead with the Hokage. Just stop now before you do something you regret!

Mizuki's eyes softened for a moment, then hardened once more. "Your appearance has added a slight complication to my plans. I guess that I'll just have to kill you both. For what its worth, I'd rather not have killed you, Iruka. But as for the boy…" Mizuki trailed off, walking out of the shadows. "…is he one of those 'people who have suffered much worse'? Tell me, Naruto, do you know why everyone hates you? Why people you've never even met want to kill you?"

"No, don't tell him!" Iruka screamed, coughing up a bit of blood. "It's against the law!" Mizuki snorted in derision. He had just betrayed his home village and was about to kill two other people. He wasn't concerned about a law few people followed anyways.

Naruto already knew. The one day he was attacked and died, the Kyuubi no Kitsune came to him in his mindscape. Naruto already new the details: the Kyuubi was sleepwalking and walked into the village, accidentally destroying stuff, and the Yondaime Hokage was forced to seal him into Naruto, although most people thought the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi only woke up at the moment of sealing, realizing what he had done.

"Do you know what happened with the demon fox attack on Konoha, about twelve years ago? Ever since that day, the Sandaime Hokage made a special rule about that day, so no one could talk about it." Mizuki continued arrogantly. "Would you like to know what everyone who was there on that day knows?"

"STOP IT!" Iruka screamed rather ineffectually, pinned as he was to a tree by several long, pointy metal objects.

"You are the Nine-Tailed demon fox! You killed thousands, including Iruka's parents and countless others! Eventually the Yondaime, the man you admire so much, sealed you up! Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you?" Mizuki ranted, spinning a large four-point shuriken in his hand. "NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU!" He screamed.

"You're wrong…" Naruto said softly. "There are people who are bound by hatred. Hinata-nee-chan and Kage-nii-san are only two of them. We all care for each other…"

"Another pathetic orphan and the rejected failure of the Hyuga clan," Mizuki sneered "are the only ones who would accept you. Trash like you guys has to stick together, I suppose. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll die sometime soon… but for now, it's your turn. DIE." He yelled, throwing the Fuma Shuriken at Naruto.

Naruto watched the projectile fly towards him and prepared to dodge, but Iruka tackled him, pinning the blonde boy to the ground as he took the shuriken in his back. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. Maybe…" Iruka gasped out. "…maybe if more people were there for you, this wouldn't have happened." He collapsed from the pain and blood loss, but he was still conscious, if barely.

"How touching. The next one will go through your head." Mizuki unslung the second massive shuriken from off his back and threw it.

_Damn it! I can't move. _Naruto struggled to lift Iruka's body off him. _What the hell do you eat, sensei?_

Naruto could see he wasn't going to be able to move in time. He closed his eyes and waited for death. Abruptly, he heard a metal clang, the tortured screech of steel cutting steel. His eyes shot open, and he saw his brother's own massive kunai sword cut through the shuriken like butter, cutting it cleanly in half and piercing a tree. Naruto heard a soft thump at the side of his head as Kage landed next to Naruto and Iruka.

"Hey guys, can other people join this party?" He joked. "I saw a guy with a really big senbon; maybe we can invite him too." The black haired boy helped Naruto roll Iruka off to the side. He tilted his head to the side. "On second thought, that sounded far too sexual for my liking. I will have to cleanse myself thoroughly, later."

Naruto stood up. "Nah, this is more of a two-man gig." He looked over to Iruka, whom Kage was feeding a blood restoring pill to. "Hey Iruka-sensei, I never did show you the technique that I learned from the scroll, did I? Watch carefully." He made a cross with the second and third finger of each hand.

"Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu** (Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"**

Close to a thousand Naruto clones appeared, each as solid as a rock.

"Uh, heh." Mizuki said nervously. "Um, I'm still a chunin level ninja. No matter how many clones you make, it doesn't mean anything if none of them can hit me."

The Naruto clones said nothing, and slowly began to approach him.

Someone kicked him in the crotch from behind, and Mizuki sank to his knees grabbing at his family jewels. _What the hell? I didn't even sense anyone behind me!_ Still wincing in pain, Mizuki pulled a regular kunai out and stabbed the person right where the heart would be. Mizuki saw it was only a boy. Black hair, brown eyes, a scar on his left arm. It was the demon brat's so-called brother, the boy named Kage.

"Are you really this willing to die for your friend?" Mizuki asked in amazement.

"Absolutely." Kage said, a trickle of blood coming from the corner of his smiling mouth. "But not today." He poofed into smoke.

Mizuki had no more time to think or say anything before blonde clones began to pummel him into the ground.

* * *

Kage and Iruka watched hundreds of Narutos beating Mizuki to a bloody pulp.

Kage was calmly checking his blade for any nicks or dents and was rather focused on cleaning any metal shrapnel, wood splinters, or tree sap out of the etches in the metal with a regular kunai **(OCD anybody?)**. He really wasn't worried about Naruto in the slightest. He could take care of himself.

On the other hand, Iruka was flinching whenever Mizuki managed to punch or stab one of the Narutos, only to relax as it poofed into smoke. Iruka knew that if he kept this up he'd be a nervous wreck by the time the night was over. He looked over to Kage and tried to start up a conversation.

"That was Kage Bushin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Jutsu)** you used, wasn't it." Iruka made it clear in his tone that it was a statement, not a question. Kage nodded.

"Yep." Kage said nonchalantly, and Iruka sweat-dropped. A kid learns a B-rank _kinjutsu_ **(forbidden technique)**, and all he could say was 'yep'? "Do I really want to know how you learned that technique?" Iruka asked tentatively, wincing as he heard Mizuki scream in pain.

Kage sighed and stopped cleaning his kunai-katana, sliding it back into its sheath. "Meh, sure. Think of me like a Sharingan wielder. After seeing a technique and its handseals a few times, I can memorize it and copy it; except for me it includes taijutsu, ninjutsu, and other stuff. Basically, if I see how something works, I can figure it out and do it myself. It's not a kekkei genkai, just my own memory. You know the Uchiha's beloved 'Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)**'? I stole that one from Sasuke on the first try, that day when we sparred. But I can't learn everything just by watching. I see ninjas using shushin **(Body Flicker)** all the time, but I can seem to learn that." Kage shrugged.

"NOT THE FACE, PLEASE, NOT MY FACE!" Mizuki screamed.

Kage continued like he didn't hear anything. "To be honest, I was watching nii-san for a while, and I picked it up while he was practicing. He can probably make more clones than me." Iruka sweat-dropped. He knew that Naruto had massive chakra reserves from having the Kyuubi no Kitsune in him. That Kage could make several, which was what he was implying, marked the brown-eyed boy's chakra reserves at least high jonin level.

At some point, Mizuki lost consciousness, and the Naruto clones stopped wailing on him and dispelled. Now there was just a single blonde-haired boy, standing above Mizuki's body. "Hehe, I guess I got a little carried away."

_He really did it._ Iruka thought in amazement. _He made over a thousand shadow clones of himself. I have no doubt that he'll surpass all previous Hokages._

Iruka smiled at the two boys as he lifted his former partner's body onto his back. "Come on you guys. We'd better let the Hokage know about this."

_

* * *

_

_Hokage Tower, some time later…_

"Alright, you two. Wait outside until we're finished talking." Iruka said, entering to Hokage's office.

There was an awkward silence between the two boys. "So now you know." Naruto said. He was unsure of how Kage would feel.

"It changes nothing. You're still my brother, my knuckle-headed, oblivious, stubborn, ramen-loving brother." Kage replied stiffly. "You knew you had it for a while, didn't you?"

Naruto nodded. "Since the day you got your kekkei genkai."

"You should have told me sooner." Kage admonished.

"Oh, gee, next time I find out I have a demon sealed in me I'll be sure to let you know." Naruto replied sarcastically. He was glad that they had smoothed things over and had gotten into their usual roles: Kage being the nagging older brother and Naruto being the immature younger brother. "It's your fault, why don't you set a good example?" Naruto whined. Kage got the joke and smiled and replied "Do as I say, not as I do." Together, they laughed. And things were back to normal with them, just like that.

Iruka walked out of the Sandaime Hokage's office, having just finished explaining everything to him. He pointed to Naruto and Kage. "Hokage-sama would like to talk to each of you. _Separately. _Kage first."

The black-haired boy nodded, his emotionless mask slipping onto his face, and walked inside.

Inside was an aged old man with the traditional clothes of the Hokage. He was smoking a long pipe, and holding a bunch of papers in his hands. He motioned for Kage to sit in one of the chairs as he read off information from the papers.

"Kage, full name unknown: born on September 9 in the year of the Kyuubi incident. Parents unknown. Found wandering on the streets of Konoha at age seven, lived in an orphanage until age ten, at which point the orphanage claimed that you ran away, along with one Uzumaki Naruto. Said orphanage was later shut down for misuse of financial resources and the woman who ran it was tried and convicted for embezzlement. When you were twelve, you killed five civilians and crippled one chunin following a domestic incident involving Uzumaki Naruto." Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this. "Enrolled in the Ninja Academy earlier this year. Briefly took first place in the class before dropping to third. Your teachers say you are skilled in ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, and kenjutsu, and have decent skill in taijutsu. One Umino Iruka complains that your laziness is almost on par with one Nara Shikamaru, son of Nara Shikaku. A small number of your classmates believe you have a kekkei genkai, although none of them have seen it."

Kage suppressed a smile at that. Naruto and Hinata wouldn't spill that out to anybody.

"However, all that's pretty irrelevant. You know all of that, anyways, it's your life. But there is one thing I would like to know." The Hokage set the papers down and looked Kage in the eyes. "You and Naruto have been together for years, and you are close enough to call each other 'brother'. How do you feel about your best friend having the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him?" Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, watching the black-haired boy's response.

"Frankly, old man, I don't really care." The Hokage's eye twitched at the boy's name for him. "Naruto is not the Kyuubi; he's my stupid little brother who happens to have a fox in his stomach. Kami knows that if he wanted to, he could probably destroy a quarter of the village before he was stopped. And frankly, I would probably help him as best I could. This village, baring a few kind people, hates Naruto's guts. I can't count the number of times we've been attacked. But somehow, Naruto always finds it within himself to forgive everyone. And if he can forgive them, I can too."

Kage leaned back, tipping the chair onto two legs.

"That's another thing about him. Naruto has this… light within him, I guess you'd call it. Something about him brings out the best in others. People see his confidence and determination and they want to follow him, to watch how far he goes before he gives up and stops. But Naruto never stops. He just plain doesn't give up. He somehow inspires people to follow him. Personally, I'd follow him to hell, because I know that he'd find a way to bring us back. Maybe it's just because he's my bro, but I think others, once they got to know Naruto, would feel the same." Kage rubbed his arm, uncomfortable with speaking for so long. He preferred to get to the point with short sentences (or one syllable words). "That's why he'll become one of the greatest Hokages ever. He's a natural born leader."

"You can say that again." Sarutobi murmured. _Its in his genes._ Sarutobi was glad that Naruto had found such a close friend who saw him for the person he was. Who knows, maybe if he hadn't, Naruto would be saying stupid catch phrases and acting like an idiot just to get attention.

"Well, as Hokage I'm going to use my authority to insure that you are placed on the same genin team as Naruto, since you two are so close. I'd hate to have to put him on a team with people who barely know him, or worse, know who he is and treat him like crap."

"Oh," Kage interrupted, thinking quickly, "In that case, can you have Hyuga Hinata on our team as well?"

The Hokage frowned. "It will be very suspicious to the council if I select three genins to be on the same three. Two I can get away with, but three… I'm going to need a good reason."

"It's quite simple, really. Naruto and I have trained with her, and to be honest, I think us three have greater potential that the Sannin you taught." Kage commented, dead serious. "Although Hinata does not know about the Kyuubi, I highly doubt she will think any less of Naruto when she finds out. With us three, we will have just about all areas covered. I am skilled with long ranged weapons and close quarters combat. I also know a few ninjutsu, too, and there are several fuinjutsu I'm developing that will have …interesting effects in combat. My stealth skills are literally off the charts, as well. Hinata is amazing in hand-to-hand fighting, I'd bet my sword she could take out most experienced genin with her Juken. Also, her Byakugan allows her to easily scout long distances and discover where enemies, allies, traps, hostages, and other stuff is. Naruto-nii-san is also skilled at ninjutsu and taijutsu, and he can create several hundred shadow clones, so he can adapt to basically any situation without any of us being in any danger. I think he's trying to learn a wind element ninjutsu, so when he masters it he'll be able to defeat mid-range opponents easily."

"Also, a total of ten people passed the genin test this year, so there will be two three-man teams and one-four man team. Given how the original Ino-Shika-Cho was so successful, I'm sure at least one jonin will want to teach their kids as a group. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji's skills combine very well with each other's, and Shikamaru and Choji are already friends. Choji will likely be the motivating force in the team; he's a pretty positive guy. Shikamaru's planning skills are top notch, he can probably think of a way out of any situation if he needs to. Being away from Sasuke Uchiha or me will allow the Yamanaka girl to actually develop her skills."

Sarutobi nodded. So far, the boy was making a lot of sense. In fact, Hiruzen's own son wanted the Ino-Shika-Cho group.

"Lastly, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke can be on the four-man team. Kiba will make an excellent tracker in conjuction with Akamaru, and his taijutsu skills are nothing to laugh at. Shino is the perfect counter for an enemy who uses lots of jutsus; his bugs literally eat chakra for breakfast. As much as I dislike him, I admit that Sasuke has good taijutsu and ninjutsu skills, although it's more of a result of constant tutoring than any natural talent. Assuming no one rips his eyes out for his arrogance, he'll probably become a formidable shinobi once his Sharingan awakens. Lastly, Sakura… well, to put it nicely, the only way she'll ever be useful is as a meat shield or if an enemy ninja asks them to take a test. She has no common sense, and basically no other skills whatsoever. On the first serious mission, she'll have a high chance of dying, but maybe a good scare is what she needs. Anyways, those four will basically be on a level with the other two teams because of Sakura's ineffectiveness and Sasuke's lack of teamwork skills."

"There's really nothing for anyone to complain about. Each team will be well-balanced, and everyone will be happy. Except for Kiba, he'll be pissed with having to deal with the Uchiha, and Ino, who'll be upset that she's not on my team or teme's team, ha ha, sorry, that pun was unintentional."

The Hokage nodded. "I can see you've been thinking about this for a while."

Kage shook his head. "Nah, I pretty much came up with all that on the spot. Pulled it right out of my ass, I did. I can actually come up with some pretty good plans if I set my mind to it."

Sarutobi sweat-dropped. _Oh, great, another lazy genius. And I thought Shikaku's kid was one of a kind._

"Even so, I can find no flaws with your plan. Alright, well that's that, then. Please go get Naruto so I can talk to him."

Kage shrugged and opened the door and left, and Naruto entered the room. Just as Sarutobi opened his mouth to say something, Naruto cut him off.

"The Fourth is…was my father, isn't he?"

Well, shit, that was a bombshell, wasn't it? When it rains piss from the heavens, it pours.

The Sandaime focused on closing his mouth. "H-how did y-you know that?" He asked. Essentially no one knew that, not even Danzo!

Naruto shrugged; a habit he had picked up from Kage. "I figured it out earlier today. The Yondaime made a policy for himself when he was Hokage: never send anyone out on a mission that you're not willing to do yourself. When the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into an infant, he would have had to choose a child. How could he expect another pair of parents to bear the burden of having a child with a demon sealed in them? No, he would have done the _noble_ thing, and sealed it within his own child." Naruto said bitterly. "What I don't get is why no one else knows. Yondaime wasn't the type to do anything in secret, and I'm basically his carbon copy in terms of looks."

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Actually, that was my doing. Minato – your father – had a lot of enemies. If it were public knowledge that you were his son, his enemies would have targeted you and tried to kill you—"

"So you let the villagers have the chance instead." Naruto sneered. "Face it, you were just afraid to deal with the hassle that would have been involved if people knew who were my father was."

Sarutobi bowed his head. What Naruto was saying was partly true. "Y-You're right. And for that, I am sorry."

Naruto forgave him; he wasn't the type to hold grudges. "Don't worry about it, old man." The Hokage's eye twitched. This new generation had _no respect_ for its elders. "Besides, if you had told everyone, I'd probably have my own mob of fangirls. And I've seen how they act; they're a worse curse than the Kyuubi." Naruto joked, trying to lighten the mood. Instantly, Hiruzen felt ashamed. His actions had made Naruto's life a living hell, and here he was joking around. Hiruzen didn't feel like he deserved Naruto's forgiveness.

"Regardless, I would like to do what I can to make it up. While I can't rescind my orders, I can give you access to the Namikaze bank account and mansion."

"Thanks old man, but I don't think I'll be using the mansion. If I live there, people will know who I am, not even counting the fact that the people who still consider my the Kyuubi would basically try to burn the place down. I don't want people to respect me because of who my father was; I want them to respect me for who _I_ am. But I'll use the bank account. Maybe me and Kage will get a bigger apartment, maybe even a kitchen so we can eat something homemade once in a while. How much money is in the account, anyways?"

Sarutobi shuffled around and found a piece of paper. Given the original large amount, years of interest had added onto the sum incredibly. He showed it to Naruto, whose eyes widened considerably.

"That…is a lot of zeroes." Naruto stammered, stunned.

Hiruzen chuckled. It was nice to know that he could improve Naruto's life in one way.

"Go get your brother and Iruka. I have more stuff I need to say."

Naruto nodded, still stunned, and went to the door. Soon, all of them were sitting in the Hokage's office.

The Sandaime Hokage looked at each of them.

"Alight, well, Kage has learned a technique from the Forbidden Scroll of Seals…" Sarutobi started, causing Naruto and Kage to tense. "…but that is acceptable, seeing as he had nothing to do with stealing the scroll. Naruto, on the other hand, is a different story. You were tricked into stealing the Forbidden Scroll, so you're clear on that part. But you learned and executed an A-rank kinjutsu, the Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Non-shinobi citizens are forbidden from attempting to learn ninja techniques. That you have done so means a great deal of people will be demanding your death. So really, there's only one thing to do."

Kage tensed, ready to go ballistic and escape if necessary, while Iruka merely frowned and assumed the Hokage had some sort of plan. Naruto doubted the old man would offer him trillions of ryo right before he was executed, so he sat complacently.

Sarutobi tossed something and Naruto. It was a headband, the symbol of a leaf etched in the middle.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I hereby pronounce you a genin of Konoha."

* * *

**Omake (Bonus Scene)**: **WOMBO COMBO!**

"Hey guys, can other people join this party?" Kage joked. "I saw a guy with a really big senbon; maybe we can invite him too." The black haired boy helped Naruto roll Iruka off to the side.

"Sure, I guess you can help me in cleaning this guy up." Naruto replied.

[P3 _Kage_ has joined the game]

"HAPPY FEET!" Naruto screamed. Both boys disappeared in a burst of speed.

"WHERE YOU AT?" Mizuki asked, confused.

Kicking up dirt from stopping his dash so suddenly, Kage appeared behind Mizuki. He yelled "THIS AIN'T FALCO!" as he grabbed Mizuki from behind. Naruto rushed in and began to mercilessly pound his fists and feet into his former sensei's body. He exhaled sharply with each blow, making, "OH, OH, OH!" sounds. After several bone-crushing blows, Naruto delivered a powerful uppercut to Mizuki's chin, sending the white-haired man into the air.

Kage jumped up as hard as he could right before Naruto launched Mizuki into the air. With a drop kick, he sent Mizuki hurtling towards the ground while simultaneously launching himself higher into the air.

As the meatbag, er, traitor approached the ground; Naruto did a backflip bicycle kick, launching Mizuki into the air once more.

Kage met Mizuki's face with his knee perfectly, sending his victim off into a tree. **"WOMBO COMBO!"** Kage and Naruto shouted in unison.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT!" Screamed Iruka. He pointed at Mizuki. "You just GOT YOUR ASS WHUPPED!"

Somewhere else, a different man with white hair noticed something. "What the fuck?" he muttered. _Why am I hard?_ He wondered.

**End Omake.**

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Alright, I just had to do that. This scene is basically a copy of WOMBO COMBO in Super Smash Bros. Melee. You can look it up on youtube if you want (little bit of adult language in it, fair warning). I don't own it, just like I don't own Naruto.**

**Anyways, that's the latest chapter of DBoK. READ IT! BELIEVE IT! REVIEW IT!**


	5. Genin Test and Revealed Feelings!

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**NEW: I now have a character bio on my profile for Kage**

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third chapter of lemony goodness!**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

* * *

12/24/2009

Chapter 5: A Genin Test and Revealed Feelings!

Naruto and Kage calmly walked into the Academy classroom for the last time. Naruto loved the expressions of shock and surprise he saw on the other kid's faces. It was absolutely precious. He almost wished he had the Sharingan, just so he could burn that image into his memory.

Thankfully, after last night Kage had convinced him to ditch the stupid orange jumpsuit that screamed, "HERE I AM! KILL ME!" in favor of an orange and black camouflage jacket and black pants. Kage was still wearing his regular red t-shirt and black-combat pants, but he had a black and gold-edged vest on. After last night, he decided it took too long to reach inside his pocket just to get a scroll, so he got a special jonin-like vest for easy access.

"What are you doing here, dobe? This is only for people who passed the test!" Sasuke growled. Naruto tilted his head so the ceiling lights reflected off his headband, freshly polished, and into Sasuke's eyes, forcing him to squint.

"Hmm, the Sharingan must be pretty weak if your perception is that off." Naruto commented offhandedly. "Maybe it's true, the Byakugan really is better. Hey nee-chan, notice anything new?" He addressed Hinata.

"Ano, you have your headband, Naruto-kun. But how'd you pass?" The Hyuga heiress replied.

Naruto smiled. Him, Kage, and Sarutobi had worked out all the details. This was the story they would tell everyone. In secret, the Hokage gave them a mission. Officially, Naruto passed the genin test, but pretended to fail in order to lure the traitor Mizuki out. Once Mizuki had revealed his true intentions, Naruto defeated him with Kage's help. But honestly, none of the other students except for Hinata would believe him, so he would wait for a more credible source, like Iruka.

As Kage once told him: "When you talk to people, make sure your facts are as solid as a brick. This is especially important when you're arguing with people. If people still refuse to see the truth, hit them in the face with it. The brick or the truths, take your pick. When you lie to people, make your words like an incredibly sharp knife. Don't let people know they have been cut by your deception until they are bleeding their life out."

"Sorry, nee-chan, but that's classified." _I'll tell you later_. Naruto said with his eyes, and Hinata nodded. "You guys will have to have to ask Iruka if you want to know, I'm not allowed to tell you."

Several members of the class whined. Sasuke turned to Kage, the contempt clear in his voice. "He's lying, isn't he?" He said in an almost pleading tone.

Kage shrugged, not bothering to waste words on the Uchiha. Why use reason on those who refuse to use it?

Suddenly Kiba tried to tackle Kage, who smoothly stepped out of the way and tripped the Inuzuka. It was somewhat of a game/challenge between them, one day Kage said he'd eat dog food if anyone in the class other than Naruto or Hinata could knock him down, and Kiba had taken offense. They quickly smoothed it over with no hard feelings, but Kiba still took him up on the bet. The feral boy hadn't succeeded yet, though.

"Damn it, I almost had you that time!" Kiba growled, lying on the floor.

"You are getting closer." Kage acknowledged. Suddenly everyone's least favorite pink-haired green-eyed girl jumped in from of him.

"KAGE, TELL US WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed in Kage's face.

Kage blinked and used his hand to smooth his short hair back into position. He stared at her rather blankly as he backed up. "I always wanted to test this." He said. Everyone sweatdropped at his non sequitur. The brown-eyed boy began making handseals. When he finished, his hands were glowing a faint violet color.

"**Fuinjutsu: ****Shinkan (Sealing Art: Silence)!!!**" In a blur, Kage rushed forwards and tapped the pink-haired girl on the throat. Strange black symbols appeared and spread from the point where he touched her. When they symbols made a full ring around her neck, they glowed slightly then disappeared.

"There, now how does that feel?" Kage asked her. Sakura's mouth moved, like she was screaming, but no sound came out, "…" "Perfect."

Half the class was ready to bow at Kage's feet and acknowledge him as a god for shutting up Sakura.

Naruto high-fived him, and Iruka, covered in bandages, walked into the room, looking at Sakura, who was making a very good impression of a mime as she shook her fist at Kage.

Iruka sighed. "Kage, do I want to know what you did?"

"Um, I sealed her voice for a few hours." The fuinjutsu user replied with a completely straight face.

"Why?"

"Because she ended her sentence with a preposition." Kage deadpanned, and the entire class sweatdropped.

Iruka shook his head. "You know what? I don't even care. I'll just tell you the teams and I'll be on my way."

"Oooohhh, got a hot date, sensei?" Naruto teased. There were catcalls and wolf-whistles throughout the class.

"Iruka and Anko, sitting in a tree, f—u—c—" Kage started to jeer before Iruka threw a chalkboard eraser at him. Of course, he promptly replaced himself with Sakura, and the eraser hit her face, releasing a cloud of chalk dust. She started sneezing and coughing silently, and suddenly she fell to the floor.

Iruka sighed again. "Does anyone want to see if she's okay?"

Kage shrugged and walked over to Sakura. He put his hand on her neck to feel for a pulse. "She's alive." He stated. Kage rather carelessly shoved her body out of the way so he could sit with Naruto and Hinata again.

"Good, you guys have no idea how much paperwork I'd have to do if she died." Iruka said, somewhat serious. "Now, the teams are—"

"Iruka-sensei, what's Naruto doing here?" Ino interrupted. "I thought he failed the test yesterday."

"I'm afraid that's a rather complicated subject, Ino. You see, Naruto and Kage were miles above the rest of class for most of the year, so they decided to take the genin test early. They both passed, but it would seem suspicious if they suddenly disappeared from the Academy, so Hokage-sama decided to take two birds out with one stone. He had suspected Mizuki of traitorous intent for some time—"

Ino gasped. "Mizuki-sensei, a traitor? No way!"

Iruka did his infamous 'big head no jutsu' and screamed, "SHUT UP OR ELSE I WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING!!!" Several students jumped on Ino to prevent her from talking, as they all wanted to hear the 'story'. Iruka sighed.

"I'm sorry, I've had a long night which involved being betrayed by my friend, getting the shit scared out of me, getting stabbed by kunai multiple times, getting more shit scared out of me, and getting stabbed by a giant shuriken."

"Anyways, Hokage-sama gave Kage and Naruto the B-rank mission of determining and revealing Mizuki's real intentions. Through a ridiculously complicated series of events, Naruto tricked Mizuki into thinking he tricked Naruto into stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. Later last night in the forest, Naruto and Kage defeated Mizuki."

"Impossible." Sasuke scoffed. "There's no way these two dobes were able to beat a chunin level opponent."

"Well, to be honest, we _have_ been holding back for some time." Naruto said, in the mood to freak everyone out.

"Oh yeah? Then what'd you do to him, then?" Sasuke challenged.

"I kicked him in the balls." Kage deadpanned, leaning back in his chair. The entire class either face-faulted or sweatdropped. He looked around at everyone's disbelief. "What? Don't you know how much that hurts?" All the males in the class winced and gripped their privates in sympathy.

After Naruto was done praising whatever gods were out there that he didn't get kicked in the crotch, he finished the story. "And then I beat him into the ground." He boasted. He and Kage agreed to try not to tell anyone (except Hinata) about the shadow clones, they were still trying to keep some aces up their sleeves.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Iruka decided to just get the lists over with, so he could go out on his _not_ date. "Anyways, here are the teams. So far, Konoha already has teams 1-6, 9, 11-18, and 20."

Kage smiled. He already confirmed with the Hokage what the teams would be.

"Team Seven is Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, and Kage… damn it, kid, you need to get a last name. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. You are to meet at training ground 3 at 4:00 PM."

_Yes! Nii-san and Hinata-nee-chan are on my team!_ Naruto thought.

_OMK! I'm on Naruto-kun and Kage-kun's team._ Hinata thought, blushing. _This is like a dream come true…_

_I'm hungry._ Kage thought. He pulled a scroll out of his vest and unsealed a double-double cheeseburger. He began munching on it, making everyone else in the class except for Naruto and Hinata wonder where he got it from. But everyone wondered what the hell it was except for Choji, who just drooled. _Om nom nom nom._

"Team Eight will be Aburame Shino, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, and Haruno Sakura. Your sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai. You are to meet in room 162 in fifteen minutes. Team Ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma. You are to meet at Yakiniku's Barbeque in one hour."

* * *

_Several hours later…_

The three genin were waiting for one chronically late jonin to show up. Naruto was anxiously shifting around and Hinata was watching him. Kage had pulled his headband over his eyes and was sleeping.

"What the hell?" Naruto complained. "Our jonin sensei was supposed to be here three hours ago."

"Ano, maybe something important came up and he had to deal with it." Hinata suggested.

"ZZZZZZZzzzz… I will eat you… flying sushi ice cream sandwich…" Kage muttered, throwing his arms out in the air as if to grab something. Hinata sweatdropped while Naruto was used to Kage's rambling.

Suddenly, a tall jonin, with gravity-defying white hair shushin'd into the field. He wore his headband over his left eye and a half face mask over his mouth. "Sorry I'm late, you guys. I was walking on my way here when I saw a cat stuck in a tree, so I had to rescue it and return it to its owner, who was this nice old lady. But then she got attacked by bandits, so I had to protect her. And that's why I'm late."

"That's the worst excuse ever!" Naruto shouted, waking up Kage. "We're in the middle of a ninja village, _there are no bandits_!"

Hinata activated her Byakugan. "You're lying." She growled. Seeing Kage within her field of vision, the Hyuga poked him in the side to keep him from falling asleep again.

"Eh, whatever." The man said. "I'm Hatake Kakashi, your jonin sensei. Let's begin introducing yourselves so we can all get to know each other. Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, things like that. Tell you what: I'll even go first. Hi, my name is Hatake Kakashi. There are some things I like and some things I dislike. Hmmm. Well, I _do _have some hobbies. My dreams… well, you guys aren't old enough to hear about those. Okay, you with the stabby-thingy at your side."

Naruto, Kage, and Hinata sweatdropped. _All we learned was his name_.

Kage cleared his throat. "Hn, fine. My name is Kage. Just Kage, no last name. My dream is to become the second-best ninja in this village, have a family, maybe some kids, and die in my sleep. My hobbies are thinking of ways to prank people, training, and developing new fuinjutsu. I like beating the crap out of jerks, spending my time with my nii-san and nee-chan, eating sushi, and practicing kenjutsu. I dislike said arrogant jerks, villagers who attack me or my brother, people who only know a few lines to a song, and fangirls who try to rape me."

Naruto and Hinata snickered as Kage glared at them. Kakashi was intrigued. _Hmm, only second best?_

"Alright, enough about you, nii-san. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My dream is to become the best ninja in the village and to surpass all previous Hokages and become Hokage of this village! My hobbies… training and comparing different types of ramen. I like hanging out with my nii-san and nee-chan, Kage and Hinata. I also like eating ramen, pulling pranks, and screwing around with people I hate. I dislike stuck-up assholes, fangirls who fail at being kunoichi, the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook, and vegetables." The blonde boy glared at Kage. "Which my brother makes me eat."

Kage shrugged. "I hate them as much as you do. But who knows, maybe if you didn't eat them then you'd be even shorter than you are now."

"Who are you calling short? You're barely two inches taller than me!" Naruto yelled.

The black haired boy snorted. "Nii-san, you're the shortest person here. Hinata is taller than you."

Hinata blushed at suddenly being injected into the conversation. "WHAT?" Naruto stood up, pulling Hinata with him. "No she's not!"

"Yes, she is. Hinata, please stand up straight and stop slouching. We've talked about it." And yes, they have. Kage has secretly been giving Hinata tips on how to catch Naruto's attention. The first thing he helped her with was the stuttering. Naruto was a naturally loud person, and when Hinata stuttered Naruto often didn't even notice she was talking. Also, Naruto was a very confident person, and Kage told Hinata that standing up straight conveyed confidence and honesty.

Hinata did so, and it turned out she was an inch taller than Naruto. "NANI???" Naruto started fake-anime crying, tears streaming down his face.

Kakashi sweatdropped. _This is a joke. Their skills better be pretty damn impressive. Still, Sandaime-sama said some pretty interesting things about the blonde boy._

"Alright, anyways. Girl with the eyes, your turn."

"My name is Hyuga Hinata. I like spending time with Naruto-kun and Kage-kun, cinnamon rolls, and red bean soup. I dislike arrogant people who believe they are superior based on birth, rank, or status, and fangirls who give kunoichi a bad name. I also dislike some seafood…" Kage started crying anime tears. "…and people who inflict pain on others for no reason. My dreams are to remove the Caged Bird Seal from the Hyuga branch family and……something else. My hobbies include training, pulling pranks with Naruto-kun and Kage-kun, and helping others."

_Hmm. Well, these three seem to get along very well. I wonder how they will do if I set them against each other. _Kakashi thought. "Okay, you three, that's great. However, you aren't going to like what I have to say next. The genin test you took at the Academy was more of a practice test to determine who has the _chance_ to become genin. Today, I'm going to administer the true genin test. There is over a 66 percent chance all three of you will fail this test." The jonin pulled out two items from a duffel bag: a clock and two bells on a string. He set the clock to ring at 9 o'clock and tied the two bells to his waist. "You have until noon to get the bells from me."

"Wait, sensei, you said _bells_, right? We have to grab your _bells_." Naruto asked, trying to confirm that this guy wasn't a pedophilic bisexual pervert.

"Yes, _bells_. Anyone who fails to get a _bell_ will be sent back to the Academy. You'll need to come at me with the intent to kill me if you expect to succeed. Begin."

Instantly, the three wannabe genins dashed off and disappeared into the trees. _Well, at least they understand the basic principles of being ninjas._ Kakashi thought. _Oh wait, what's this_?

In front of him, the blonde haired boy was standing cockily in front of him. In the trees, Kage and Hinata sweatdropped. _Really, nii-san?_

Kakashi pulled out an Icha Icha book and sighed. "Naruto, subtlety is supposed to be a ninja's strong point."

"I'll show you my strong points!" Naruto roared, charging Kakashi. He dashed to the side and pushed off the ground, sending a strong right hook, which Kakashi blocked with an open palm. Kakashi used Naruto's arm as leverage and twisted it behind his back.

"You shouldn't let an enemy get behind you." Kakashi said calmly, making the tiger seal. "Konoha's Most Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Naruto was send flying, but while in the air, he abruptly poofed into smoke. _Huh, so Hokage-sama was right: this kid can make shadow clones._ But where was the real one?

Kakashi felt a projectile zooming towards him. He turned around to see a single shuriken flying towards him. He lifted up a single finger to catch the shuriken through the ring. Instants before it hit him, it shimmered and the black-haired boy appeared in its place.

Kage kicked Kakashi, who was barely able to block and was sent backwards. Kakashi landed on his feet, skidding on the ground.

_Damn it! _Kage thought._ I almost got one!_

"Commendable, but such an obvious attack won't work on me." Kakashi calmly stated.

Kage smiled. "How about this?" He started making handseals. "Snake! Ram! Monkey! Boar! Horse! Tiger!"

_What? A genin shouldn't have enough chakra to be able to perform that jutsu! And that's the Uchiha signature jutsu, you need a strong fire affinity to perform that! How did this kid learn it? _

Kage sucked in a huge breath. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)!!!**" He exhaled strongly; spewing flames over his would be sensei.

As the flames died down, Kage looked around. He doubted he'd be able to catch the jonin, but even if he did, there'd at least be a charred body, right?

A hand burst out of the ground and grabbed his ankle. "**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu)**!" Kage screamed as he was pulled into the ground up to his head.

Kakashi popped out of the ground in front of him. "Well, I must admit you are special. But hey, the nail that sticks out the highest is the one that gets hammered in first. Anything to say for yourself?"

The brown-haired boy smiled. "I've learned what I needed to know." He disappeared in a poof of smoke, startling Kakashi.

_What? No, no, no, no! Damn it, both of them know how to make shadow clones? Gotta find the girl, quickly!_

Kakashi quickly found the Hyuga girl. Honestly, he'd like to put her in a genjutsu and show her images of Naruto bleeding and dying in painful ways, but with the Byakugan she'd see right through it. Instead, the white-haired ninja pulled out a special poisoned senbon. It was in no way lethal, it'd just put a person to sleep for a few hours. Luckily, Kakashi was one of the few people, outside the Hyuga clan, to know about the Byakugan's blind spot. He easily tossed the needle into the back of her neck.

The instant the needle struck, the dark haired girl poofed into smoke as well, and Kakashi fell to his knees. _Fuck. Fucking fuckcakes._

Kakashi groaned. Tricked by a girl with an inferiority complex, a boy who rapidly reproduces asexually, and another boy who seemed to be compensating for something.

* * *

Kakashi went back to the center of the field. The clock read 8:57 PM. Kakashi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _Even if they can escape me, they still can still fail._

He ducked a jump kick from behind, barely dodging a leg sweep from a different attacker. The first attacker, Kage, immediately followed up with a five punch combination, ending with a roundhouse kick. As soon as Kakashi was about to get the upper hand, Naruto followed up with a knee to the solar plexus.

_Damn it! I can't read Icha Icha anymore!_ Kakashi thought as he slipped the book away.

He jumped back thirty feet from his two attackers. "I'm disappointed that you two teamed up without including Hinata. From what I've heard, you three were very close."

Kage and Naruto smiled. "Two things." They said in unison. Kage shimmered as his Henge was removed, revealing another Naruto. "One." They pointed to the ground at Kakashi's feet. "Two."

The Copy-Nin looked down. There was a gigantic black X where he was standing. _You got to be fucking kidding me…_

"Hinata, NOW!"

Kakashi's eyes widened. Hinata blindsided him, striking at his tenketsus. Using only his left leg, Kakashi managed to jump away before he was completely immobilized. In midair, Kage appeared behind him slashing away at him with his kunai-katana. To avoid or block all his attacks, Kakashi was forced to reveal his Sharingan. As they landed, he was able to force the boy away with an open palm to his chest.

Kage skidded backwards, and Naruto and Hinata jumped to his side.

The alarm rung.

Kakashi did an eye smile, making an upside down U. "Well, you three are very skilled. But you still didn't get a bell, so I'm afraid you fail."

"Really, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. He held out his closed fist and turned it upward. He opened it, and there was a bell in the middle.

Kakashi flinched as his hand moved down to his hip. Indeed, the bells were gone. He looked at Kage, who he assumed had the other bell. Kage grinned insolently and tilted his head towards Hinata, who revealed that she had the other bell.

The white-haired ninja directed his attention towards Kage. As he opened his mouth to speak, Kage opened his palm to reveal a third bell.

Slowly, Kakashi started chuckling. He soon developed into full blown laughter, and his students looked at him, worried that he had gone insane.

_Well I'll be. He must have cloned one of the bells. Not even my Sharingan can tell the difference._

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to laugh like that. It's just that you guys are the first team I've passed. Ever. I'd like to know when you three made the shadow clones, though, and how you hid your presences from me."

The three genin looked at each other.

"Well, you see…" Kage started.

* * *

_Flashback: Almost an hour before the designated time…_

Kage, Naruto, and Hinata were walked towards Training Ground 3. Kage and Naruto had just told Hinata how Naruto got his headband, omitting certain facts like the Kyuubi no Kitsune and Naruto's true heritage.

"Hey nii-san," Kage whispered. "I think we should teach Hinata-chan Kage Bushin no Jutsu."

Naruto paused. "Are you sure? There's a reason why it's a forbidden technique. And it could tire her out dangerously."

"It's forbidden because it's so versatile. If someone with malicious intent or great stupidity gets their hands on it, then it's a problem. You're dedicated to this village, I only beat the crap out of people who deserve it, and Hinata's probably smarter and more stable than you or me. Her chakra reserves are big enough to handle a clone or two. As long as she doesn't spam it like you do she'll be fine." Without waiting for Naruto's response, Kage ran to catch up to Hinata.

_Wait, did nii-san just imply I'm stupid?_

"Hey Hinata, wanna learn a kinjutsu?" Kage gave her a rare, mischievous smile.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Hinata asked, concerned.

"Nah. The Sandaime will probably be okay with it." Kage replied truthfully

Hinata nodded, excited. She rarely got to learn new techniques in the Hyuga clan, they didn't believe in outsider intervention. The fact that it was a forbidden technique was all the more worthwhile!

"Alright, so this is what you do…"

* * *

_End Flashback_

"And then we taught her how to make shadow clones. It took her a while to get the hang of it, but in the six-some hours we had, Hinata-chan managed to make a shadow clone!" Kage finished.

"Honestly, it was freaking amazing." Naruto said. "It took me around twelve hours. Nee-chan will be a great kunoichi someday!"

Hinata blushed at his compliments. "It was nothing, Naruto-kun. I'm sure I'm not that great. I bet Kage learned it quicker."

Said boy shook his head. "It took me around nine hours. You are a far greater ninja that you give yourself credit for, nee-chan." Kage stated flatly, secretly proud of Hinata. "Anyways, we figured something was up when you still hadn't showed up. Either you had forgotten and was running late, was purposely running late, or somehow had an issue come up. So Naruto decided to pull a prank on you. We each made a shadow clone and put them where we were supposed to meet. I set up a little fuinjutsu I've been developing that hides a person's chakra signature. Basically, if you don't see us, hear us, or smell us, you won't be able to find us."

"Originally," Naruto cut in. "We were gonna do something scary to freak you out, like have the clones kill themselves or each other. But then you started asking us questions and gave us that test."

"At that point, we were just waiting for the memories of our clones to come back to us." Hinata picked up the story. "You easily took out each of our clones, which are somewhat representative of our respective skill levels, if not power. We each got the memories, and figured out it was basically suicide to expect a single genin to be able to beat a jonin. So we decided the test was given to determine if we could work together. We took a moment to think of a plan, and executed it. The plan was based on our respective qualities. Naruto is really an in-your-face kinda guy, so he and a transformed clone attacked you first. Once your attention was diverted, I attacked you, knowing I could get several good hits on you before you escaped." Hinata blushed at that. Really, she was unsure if she could, but Naruto and Kage were confident in her abilities, and she didn't want to disappoint them. In the end, it turned out they were right, she, the failure of the Hyuga clan, was good enough to get several decisive strikes on a jonin!

"Once you were numbed, it was my job to get the bells. I'm a stealth-type, so distracting you with a big, sharp piece of metal so that I could grab the bells was easy. After that, I cloned a bell and handed one each to Naruto and Hinata." Kage finished.

Kakashi nodded. "You three displayed excellent teamwork and joint planning skills. In combat, you trusted each other to watch each other's backs. Most importantly, at the end you made sure no one got left behind. In the ninja world, those who break the rules and fail missions are scum………but those who abandon their friends and comrades are worse than scum. Today, you three demonstrated an absolute confidence in each other in the heat of battle. I had planned on some team combat training afterwards, but it already seems like your synergy in battle is great." He chuckled and threw them a large bag. "Inside are three sleeping bags and three tents. Tonight, I want you three to camp out here and work out any last issues, if there are any. Tomorrow, you'll be doing you're first mission!" Kakashi gave an eye-smile and shushin'd away.

"Damn." Kage murmured. "I so wanna learn that."

* * *

_Later that night…_

"Hey, nii-san." Kage said suddenly. "Can you go get us some wood for a fire?"

"No problem." The blonde boy responded, walking off.

Hinata and Kage sweatdropped. Kage's attempt at manipulation had been painfully obvious……………and painfully successful.

_Wow, I didn't think that would work so well._

"Nee-chan, we need to talk." Kage said. Hinata nodded. "You know that I support your feelings for Naruto, right?"

"Y-yes. You've been very helpful in telling me what N-Naruto likes." Hinata answered truthfully. Kage had told her lots of Naruto's personal likes and his pet peeves. For example, all the girls in their class thought Sasuke both liked long hair, so Hinata assumed Naruto liked short hair. Now, Kage had no freaking clue whether emo-boy liked girls with long hair, or if he even liked girls at all, but he was pretty sure anyone with a Y chromosome would agree that Hinata looked way better with longer hair. So Hinata had started growing her hair out a little bit. It wasn't much, but it reached down to her shoulders and framed her face nicely.

Honestly, he thought Naruto would be happier with a girlfriend and Hinata would be happier with Naruto. Even if he was a cold bastard on the outside, Kage still cared about those close to him on the inside (a grand total of two other people, guess who?). Still, it was rather painful to watch his knucklehead brother notice Hinata with out really _noticing_ her. Once Hinata had even said, "I like you, Naruto-kun." To which Naruto responded, "I like you too, nee-chan!" completely missing the point of what she said. Kage would've liked nothing more than to beat it into Naruto's head that Hinata liked him in _that_ way, but that would take all of the point out of it. Besides, it was mildly entertaining, if frustrating.

Even with his good intentions, Kage never considered that Naruto didn't want a relationship with anyone at the moment.

"I really, really hate to do this to you guys. But we're actual ninja now. We can't afford to mess around. You having such strong feelings for a teammate can put us all in danger. I'm sorry…………but you need to tell Naruto, for better or for worse. We can't risk someone's life." Kage summarized. "I'm really sorry about this, nee-chan."

They both heard Naruto approaching. Stealth was not his strong point. Almost two minutes after they first heard him, the blonde boy walked into the camp area and set down several decent sized logs.

"Ah, you're back." Kage said with false cheerfulness. "I was thinking about setting up a perimeter, but I didn't want to leave Hinata-chan all alone, but now you're here. I'll go set up a perimeter, okay, bye!" He rushed off into the trees.

"Kage, wait!" Naruto called out, but it was already too late. "You couldn't at least lit the logs on fire." He muttered, and Hinata laughed. Naruto mock-glared at her and pulled out a box of matches. "Stupid seal master nii-san never bother to light stuff on fire when you need them too. Why couldn't I have a pyromaniac as a brother?"

Hinata giggled at his rhetorical question. "Well, you would make a nice candle." She said thoughtfully. Naruto face-faulted.

* * *

Kage sneezed. _Hmm, someone must be talking about my flames of sexiness_.

The black-haired boy shrugged and began running through handseals. On the 31st seal he stopped and slammed his palm into the ground. A black seal appeared on the ground, the kanji for "aware". It was a special fuinjutsu he had created. If anything bigger than a cat walked within ten meters of the seal, a master seal back at the campsite would activate, showing how many intruders there were. Also, the creator of the seal could feel the direction of violations in the boundary.

The only problem was that making it was a huge chakra drain, even with Kage's large reserves (which he still didn't know why he had them. He could only theorize that because he was exposed to the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra, his reserves enlarged like Naruto's, although not quite as big). So in the end, he could only make 25 or so sentry seals before he ran out of charka.

After double-checking the seal for errors, Kage walked twenty meters away, trying to stay the same distance away from the campsite. He took his time making the next seal. He had no clue how Hinata and Naruto were doing, but he hoped it was going well.

Monkey-rabbit-horse-dragon-snake-dragon-dog-bird…

_I hope it's not awkward when I get back…_

* * *

Finally, Naruto got the fire going. He sat down next to Hinata and laid down, looking up at the stars. Hinata blushed at Naruto's proximity.

"Sooooo…………… Kage set this up didn't he?" He asked suddenly. Hinata _eeped_. "H-How did you know?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm not stupid, nee-chan. Since when does Kage sound cheerful? And honestly, half the time I don't even know what he's doing; he usually doesn't let me know. So what's up, Hinata-nee-chan?"

"Ano… I just…wanted to talk to you." Hinata said softly. "I've been waiting to tell you this for a long time, N-Naruto-kun. I l-like you."

"I like you, too, Hinata." Replied Naruto, obviously confused.

"No, I mean that I l-love y-you, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata stammered. "Ever since I f-first met you, you were always h-happy and c-c-confident."

Naruto was silent, completely stunned.

_Please, say something, Naruto-kun. Say you love me back, hug me, something!_

"Wh-Whoa. I…I'm just not ready for this. You're a beautiful young woman, Hinata, you're kind, courageous, and pretty. But… I'm sorry. I just can't return your feelings. I love you like a sister, Hinata. I can't just lie to you or myself and pretend otherwise. And my happiness and confidence… you love those qualities, because you wish you had them. You don't _love_ me." Naruto stopped, seeing that he had hurt Hinata deeply. She jumped onto her feet, tears in her eyes.

Naruto reached out to her. "Hinata, wait—" The Hyuga heiress slapped his hand away.

"No, Naruto. I'm done waiting." She ran off into the trees.

"I'm sorry, nee-chan." Naruto said softly to himself and the gently crackling fire.

* * *

Kage finished the 25th sentry seal, wiping a little bit of sweat off his forehead. _Hmm, I'm not as tired as I usually am. My reserves must be getting larger._

He felt one of the sentry seals activate. Someone was exiting the perimeter.

_What? Why would Naruto or Hinata………… oh _hell_ no!_

Kage rushed off in Hinata's direction.

Hinata ran blindly through the forest. She didn't care where she was or where she was going. She just wanted, no… needed to get away from _him_.

Someone jumped into her way, so she activated her Byakugan and sent two Juken strikes at him.

The stranger knocked them away from his body. With a start, Hinata realized it was Kage.

"Hinata-nee-chan, what happened?" He asked.

"Shut up and get out of my way!" Hinata screamed, tears streaming from her lavender eyes. The brown-eyed boy didn't move.

Hinata rushed him, aiming Juken strikes at nonlethal points like his arms and legs. Kage countered her strikes by blocking her strikes at the wrist, as blocking her hands would make his own go numb. Hinata crouched and swept his legs out from under him.

Kage landed in a coiled position, immediately lashing out with a reverse donkey kick, which Hinata dodged. Kage smoothly rose to his feet. He dashed towards Hinata, sending a barrage of kicks her way. On his third kick, he overextended himself slightly, and Hinata hit several major tenketsu, numbing his entire left leg. The black-haired boy shifted his weight onto his right leg and lashed out with a quick left jab to the girl's stomach knocking the wind out of her. He cocked his right fist back to smash it into Hinata's face, but hesitated.

That hesitation was all she needed. **"Hakke Sanjuni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms)!!!"**

Hinata spun, delivered two simultaneous strikes to Kage's solar plexus and collarbone. "Two Palms!"

She struck him four more times in the stomach. "Four Palms!"

The Hyuga took a step with her left foot to put more force into her strikes. "Eight Palms!"

Her next strikes targeted his obliques. (The muscles on either side of the abdomen) "Sixteen Palms!"

Finally, Hinata struck at his heart. "Thirty-Two Palms!"

Kage was sent flying into a tree. A resounding crack was heard as his back impacted the hard wood. With a gasp, Hinata realized what she had done. She quickly deactivated her Byakugan and rushed towards her friend. She crouched down next to him; his body was resting in a partially upright position against a tree.

"Kage-kun!"

Kage coughed, blood coming out of the corner of his mouth. "You finally did it… *_cough_* … I knew you could pull it off… *_cough cough_*"

"Kage-kun, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—"

Kage shook his head. "Don't worry *cough* about it; I'm not dead." He started hacking. "I'm just … having a little trouble breathing. It worked great, though, didn't it? I'm completely numb………okay, that's a lie. I can't move anything and it hurts like hell. I can't use chakra either, isn't that great?!?" The black haired boy gave her a small smile, a trickle of blood dripping down his chin.

"Kage-kun, this isn't funny! I think you have internal bleeding!" Hinata admonished, wiping the blood off with her thumb.

Kage scoffed, his eyes drooping. "Nah, I just bit my tongue." He admitted. "But if you put any more force into that I would be having some serious problems." He had another small coughing fit. "I bet…… most of the people……in your clan……would say that……it was impossible, huh? But I'm proud of you. *_cough cough_* I knew you could do it."

Kage thought he somewhat understood Hinata. She had always been treated as worthless, incapable of the simplest techniques. For a long time Hinata herself believed that. She had never received any praise, and her father most likely hated her. Add it all up, and you get one introverted emotional orphan. She latched onto the first people (Naruto and Kage) who showed her kindness, though her affection was no less genuine for it. Kage hoped that Hinata and Naruto were still friends. It could get a bit awkward if they hated each other.

Suddenly, Hinata hugged Kage, crying into his shoulder. Kage tensed for a moment, and then relaxed. Soon, her sobs died down.

"Hinata-chan, to strangle someone properly you need to have your arms around their neck, not heir body." He stated, confused.

Hinata looked at him with tear-stained eyes. "What? No, Kage-kun. I'm just giving you a hug."

_What's a 'hug'?_

"Oh. Okay." Kage winced as she tightly hugged his sore upper body. It's not like he could move, anyways. After a few moments, he realized he was actually enjoying the feel of Hinata's arms around his body.

* * *

_Two hours later…_

Kage and Hinata stumbled into camp, Hinata supporting Kage's weight. Naruto was looking into the fire, and didn't acknowledge their presence. Kage helped Hinata into her tent, insisting he would be alright. He limped over to Naruto and sat down.

"You hurt her badly." The black-haired boy said in a monotone. "You almost screwed everyone over."

Naruto frowned and looked over at his brother.. "Yes, but if I let her keep crushing on me and I told her later, then she'd be hurt a lot worse." Kage nodded his head in acceptance. "What the hell happened to you? This is the worst I've ever seen you."

Kage winced as he stood up. "Hinata happened to me." He deadpanned, and walked into his own tent. "Go to sleep. Tomorrow's our next mission."

* * *

**A/N: Annnnnnnnnnnd Cut!**

**Don't get mad at me for teaching Hinata how to make Shadow clones. If a little effing brat like Konohamaru can learn it, Hinata definitely can. And for me teaching Hinata 32 Palms. She probably had to figure that one out on her own in canon, as her family's a bunch of assholes and honestly, Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba would have absolutely no clue on how to help her. Here, at least Kage can see chakra coils and some tenketsu, so he has helped her learn it. **

**And HOLY SHIT!!! I feel terrible for doing that to Hinata. Personally, I love NaruHina, but I couldn't find a way to work it into this fic with the stuff I have planned in the future.**

**Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! **

**-Jaytang**


	6. Chapter 6: The Land of Waves

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

3/28/2010

Chapter 6: The Land of Waves!

The familiar genins were communicated through wirelesses as they tracked their mission goal.

"Lavender Dove, this is Crymson Dragon. Please confirm location of target. Over."

"Target is approximately 32 meters south-southwest of your position, 45 meters east of my position, and 24 meters northeast of Orange Fox's position. Waiting for plan of attack, Crymson Dragon. Over."

"……………Our target is reputed to have great detection, evasion, and offensive skills. Orange Fox, make around fifty shadow clones to surround the target, radius 15 meters. I'll make the other fifty. Over."

"…Target has been surrounded. We're ready to move in at any time."

"……………"

"……………"

"Orange Fox, you're supposed to say 'over' when you're done talking. Over."

"Sorry about that. Over."

"…whatever. On my mark, send in clones to attack. Once target is sufficiently exhausted, Orange Fox will subdue the target. Everyone affirm the plan. Over."

"Orange Fox confirms. Over."

"Lavender Dove confirms. Over."

"Great. Let's roll on my mark. Three……….Two…..One……Mark!"

* * *

Sounds of battle could be heard throughout the forest along with screams of pain.

* * *

Naruto was struggling to hold an enraged cat, Kage and Hinata looking at him with varied levels of amusement.

Kakashi's voice came through the wireless. "Is there a red ribbon on the left ear? Over."

"Yes, _Lazy Wolf_, there is." Naruto replied smartly. "This is definitely Tora. Over."

"Good." Kakashi replied, ignoring his pupils' nickname for him. "Lost Pet 'Tora' search mission: Complete!"

* * *

Naruto, Kage, and Hinata sweatdropped as they watched an incredibly fat woman smother the returned cat.

"Okay, Team 7." The Hokage said, shuffling through some papers. "Your next mission is—"

Naruto quickly interrupted him. "Come on, old man! We've been doing D-rank missions for almost a week! Give us something special! Come on, at least a C-rank!"

Sarutobi sighed. "Naruto, don't you even want to consider how your friends feel about this?"

Hinata quietly injected herself into the conversation. "Honestly, Hokage-sama, you can't say anything about us not being ready. You should know that our skills are well above that of an average genin. We are fully capable of completing a C-rank mission. Isn't that right, Kage-kun?"

Iruka raised an eyebrow. _One year ago, Hinata wouldn't even raise her voice to ask to go to the bathroom. Now she's standing up to the Hokage. It seems like Naruto and Kage are good influences._

"Hai. Hinata-chan and Naruto are right. It would be a waste of our skills to give us missions which…… less experienced teams can complete." Kage noted smoothly.

"Fine, I'll give you guys a C-rank." Hiruzen pulled out a sheet of paper. "Your mission is to protect your client, a professional bridge builder named Tazuna, and escort him back to his hometown." He gestured to one of his subordinates. "Bring him in." the man nodded and opened a door to the side.

Immediately, Naruto wrinkled his nose, smelling a great deal of alcohol, and Kage looked like he was about to through up. Hinata wasn't sure, but she thought she just saw the room get a little hazy with fumes. Sarutobi quickly threw his pipe in a bucket of water to prevent the room from igniting. Kakashi just kept reaching Icha Icha.

An old man with a distinct beer belly walked into the room, holding a bottle of sake. Tazuna looked over the three kids and muttered, "Great, a bunch of super bratty kids." Naruto's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but a look from Kage silenced him. Tazuna didn't notice and looked towards the Hokage. "You sure these brats can protect me?"

Kakashi took a step forwards. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I've been a jonin for almost ten years, and I can assure you that you will be well protected." His statement might have been taken a little bit more seriously if he hadn't been pervertedly giggling over his book.

Tazuna harrumphed. "Well, not what I expected, but I guess you'll do. Say, could you lend me one of those books?" Kakashi's visible eye twitched. He didn't care what the drunk thought of him, but _no one_ took his books away. Sarutobi noticed this and quickly said, "Okay, you five will leave Konoha in one hour. You have this time to pack and say farewells, as this mission may take over a month long. Once the time is up, meet at the North Gate. Dismissed."

Hinata slowly folded away her last shirt and zipped up the bag. Now, all that was left was to tell her father. Hesitantly, the Hyuga heiress walked into her father's study. Hiashi looked up quickly.

"What is it?" He asked sharply.

"F-Father, I'm leaving on a mission. I may be gone for a month or more." Hinata answered, looking at the ground.

"Hmm, a C-rank already?" Hiashi mused. "Well, that's certainly quicker than expected. Congratulations."

Hinata smiled, feeling a small bit of pride at her father's acknowledgement. It was quickly squashed by his next words. "Do try to not be a burden to your team. You are excused, Hinata." Crushed, she sketched a quick bow and rushed out of the room. The dark blue-haired girl dashed out of the Hyuga Compound, trying to keep tears from escaping her eyes.

Rushing towards the North Gate, Hinata didn't notice running by a familiar black-haired boy. As he watched the Hyuga heiress run off, he made a familiar seal before following the lavender-eyed girl.

* * *

_Hokage's office…_

"Heya, old man, I'd like to ask a favor."

The Hokage looked up from his paperwork at stared at the blonde boy. "What is it, Naruto? Aren't you supposed to be at the North Gate right now?" He sighed.

"Well, I've been thinking about getting a new place for a while, now, with my dad's money. Problem is, it'd take to long to move our stuff, not that we have much, when we're busy with team training and things like that. So I thought that now me and Kage are gonna be off on a mission, we'd get a new place built, and by the time we get back it'll be finished."

The Hokage smiled. "Well, it sounds like a good idea, Naruto, but where do I come in?"

Naruto sighed. "You know how everyone gives me shit for having the Kyubi in me? Well, I really don't trust anyone to build me a safe, functional house. So I was thinking, you could buy out the apartment and have a demolition team tear it down, and then build a new house. And since you're the Hokage, people are likely to do a really good job, yeah? Just take the money out of the Namikaze account."

Hiruzen nodded. "That's an excellent idea, Naruto." He sounded vaguely surprised. "What size house do you want?"

"Oh, just a standard two story house. Around four bedrooms and four bathrooms, in case we ever have guests, and a kitchen and living room. Make sure to put two of the bedrooms on opposite sides of the house, though, Kage shouts in his sleep sometimes. Oh, and a large backyard for training and stuff. And besides, by the time we get back it'll be around September, so it'll kinda be like my surprise birthday present to Kage." Naruto snorted at a sudden memory. "I hope it turns out better than all the other birthday presents we've given each other. Last year nii-san gave me a sword and I stabbed myself with it. Once I gave him some metal-polishing oil for his blade, and he accidentally set it on fire."

Sarutobi sweatdropped. "Okay, Naruto, I'll be sure to do all that. Now don't you have somewhere to be?"

Naruto grinned back. "Don't worry, I already am." He poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

The Hokage blinked. _Shadow clone? Damn, those things are useful._

* * *

_Konoha North Gate…_

Naruto, Kage, Hinata, Kakashi, and Tazuna all met up at the North Gate of Konoha.

"Yo, everybody ready to go? Last chance if you forgot anything?" Kakashi asked. His three students nodded. Together, the five people walked off on the road to the Land of Waves. Naruto and Hinata noticed Kage looking back at Konoha, and asked if something was wrong. Kage just shook his head. "It's nothing."

* * *

_Hyuga Compound…_

"Hyuga-sama," A branch member addressed the clan head, "there is a boy outside who wants to speak to you. He says it's about your daughter."

Hiashi scowled. What had the girl done now? "Send him in."

"Yes sir."

Hiashi studied to boy who walked in. He was of average height for a 12-year old, with coal-black hair and narrow dark brown eyes. Hiashi frowned. If the boy's skin was just a shade lighter, he could easily be mistaken for a Hyuga…

…

…

Or an Uchiha.

Except for the eyes, that is. The Hyuga typically had no irises, and the Uchiha typically had black or grey eyes. These traits were assumed to be the result of having a doujutsu.

Hiashi had no idea how close he was to the truth.

For now, Hiashi had a neutral opinion of Hinata's teammates. He had definitely noticed his daughter getting stronger as a result of training with them. Also, Hiashi was one of the few who knew the Kyuubi brat's true heritage. Minato Namikaze had been one of the few people to ever earn Hiashi's respect, so the least he could do was give his son a chance, despite his………resident.

Now this other boy…………… he was an unknown. Hiashi had done some 'research' (not like Jiraiya's research) on Hinata's other teammate. This……Kage……was a very interesting boy. Hiashi had discovered several…… troubling facts about him. First of all, his entire parentage was unknown, which wasn't that surprising, given he was an orphan. However, it seemed that he had managed to survive on his own until he was seven, at which point he was put into an orphanage. Later, he ran away from said orphanage with Minato's boy. Now, none of this was very disturbing. However, it seemed that he had killed five men and crippled another in an altercation involving his so called brother. Hiashi was deeply troubled by this. According to an ANBU report, Kage had seemed to have no emotional reaction to this incident, which was incredibly unusual for a child of his age who had just made his first kill. Or kills, as it was.

Hiashi frowned. By all accounts, the boy seemed rather unstable, but here he was waiting patiently in front of him. Hiashi realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts for a moment. He activated his Byakugan for two reasons: one, it allowed him to determine if the boy lied, and two, it usual freaked the shit out of people, which Hiashi had to admit was fun to do. Unfortunately, Kage didn't seem the least bit discomfited, in fact he seemed to expect it.

"How can I help you, boy?" He growled. Honestly, he felt the slightest bit grateful to him and Minato's boy. Somehow, they had managed to help Hinata stop stuttering. Hiashi didn't know how they did it; no matter how many times he had told her to stop, Hinata just couldn't help herself! No matter how many times Hiashi had told her to stop, she just kept on doing it. However, it was unbecoming for a clan head to show too much positivity or gratitude. After all, Hiashi had an image to maintain.

"You know why I'm here." Kage sneered. "Don't pretend like you don't; I dislike repeating myself."

Hiashi nodded, feeling a small amount of respect for the boy. He had always hated such pretenses, himself. Saying the same thing over and over was simply a waste of time. "Very well, what is it about my daughter?"

"Hinata loves you. Almost every thing she's done, every word she's ever spoken, was to get your attention. To get you to acknowledge her. But you never did, and you never will."

Kage turned his back to Hiashi and looked out the window, a clear sign of disrespect. "I used to think not having any parents was the worst thing that could happen to a child. After getting to know Hinata, I learned I was wrong. Did you know that she thinks you don't love her?" He asked semi-rhetorically.

Hiashi felt obligated to respond. "Love is just another useless emotion that will make her weak. I'm trying to make her strong so that she can be the clan head."

"And how has that been working out?" Kage threw a contemptuous glance over his shoulder. Hiashi remained silent and kept his face stoic, although he had to admit to himself that it really hadn't. Up until a year ago, Hinata was basically at the same skill level that she was at when she was six years old. Suddenly in the last year of the Academy, she had suddenly started coming home at late hours, saying she had been 'training' with 'friends'. Hinata's skills began improving in all areas. Sometimes, she seemed to slip into a bastardized style of Juken, but it seemed to be no less effective, so Hiashi let it slide. Hiashi assumed her two new teammates were the friends she had been training with.

Hiashi realized he was defending himself (albeit mentally) from…… this boy! "What do you care? I don't have to explain my ideals to the likes of you!"

Kage turned around and walked over to a chair and sat down. Another disrespectful slight, sitting down without being asked to. By his actions, Kage said that he considered Hiashi to be an equal, or even an inferior. "There are three things that will happen. Hinata will live by your ideals for the rest of her life and wonder what her life is missing, die fighting or fleeing your ideals, or kill you." Kage stood up and began to leave.

Hiashi stood up. "I'm not done talking to you!"

"I don't care. _I'm _done talking to _you_." Kage answered without turning around.

Hiashi dashed in a blur of speed and gave a small Juken strike to Kage's lower spine. Unable to feel or move his legs, Kage collapsed to the ground.

"Just what I would expect from you." Kage spat. "A bastard like you doesn't deserve to be a father." He dissolved in a cloud of smoke.

Hiashi blinked. Shadow Clone? He returned back to his seat and calmed his breathing, making sure his face betrayed no emotion. He called the Branch member back into the office.

"Cancel my meeting with Hiroshi." Hiashi told the Branch member. He needed to think. The boy had said many things Hiashi thought would be blatant falsehoods, but Kage had been speaking the truth the entire time. Hiashi needed some time to reflect upon his actions. Only a fool refuses to consider he is wrong.

_Have I really treated you that badly, Hinata?_

* * *

_Close to the Land of Waves, after 2 weeks of travel…_

Naruto looked around at his surroundings. It was nice to get out of the city once in a while. He looked around at the trees, the full moon in the star-filled sky, the leaf-covered ground, his friends, sensei, and client, and a small puddle.

Naruto frowned. Something was wrong.

Suddenly, a chain of shuriken ripped through Kakashi's body, tearing his body to shreds.

The three genin and Tazuna whipped around to see two ninjas, each with the headband of Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist). They were holding the bloody weapon between them.

"NO! Damn it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"Mourn later." Kage commanded.

Two shinobi were connected by a chain. Kage quickly assed the situation. The weapons the two hostiles were using seemed to by a joint weapon. It would be highly effective if both users moved in perfect synchronization, but if one user slipped up or was too slow or too fast it would quickly become a burden. Kage quickly threw several kunai, pinning the chain to a tree. Together, the genin team jumped back to protect Tazuna.

The two shinobi smiled and disconnected from the chain. One had a claw on his right hand, and the other had a claw on his right hand. Naruto smelled what could only be described as a slight _wrongness_ in the air, and realized what it was.

"Be careful." Naruto warned. "I think those claws are poisoned."

Kage nodded, processing this information. The two probably fought in synchronization, while one distracted an opponent the other could attack. Assuming Naruto was right, all they would need is a small scratch, depending on the strength of the poison. In two seconds, he had a battle plan.

"Hinata, with me on this one. Wait for an opening, then strike. Naruto, incapacitate the other one on the right! We need to question him. Go on my mark." Kage said in a low tone, so only Naruto and Hinata could hear. Naruto and Hinata nodded and took ready positions.

The two enemy shinobi laughed. "You genin are pretty gutsy, thinking you can take us, the Demon Brothers, on." Said one.

"You three seem pretty close." Said the other. "Just give us the old man, and we'll let you three go. I think that's pretty fair, don't you think, Meizu?"

"Indeed, brother. You should do as Gozu says." Said Meizu. "There's no way you three genin can beat us chunin."

"Don't underestimate us." Kage warned, drawing his kunai-katana. "We're not your average genin. How about you two leave. We'd hate to have to kill one of you."

Gozu laughed. "Brat, there's a difference between gutsy and just plain stupid. Do you really think—"

"NOW!" Kage shouted, and dashed towards Gozu, trusting Naruto to cover him from Meizu on the right. Hinata followed right behind him. Naruto made hundreds of shadow clones, all of whom charged towards Meizu.

Meizu easily carved through the first few dozen clones. He dispatched several more with little effort, sweeping his claw through several clones at once and easily avoiding strikes. But as the fight wore on, he began to slow down. Meizu was a stealth fighter; he relied on surprise attacks to catch his opponent off guard. He was running out of stamina, and Naruto was as fresh as the beginning of the fight. All he had to do was keep on making shadow clones and wait for Meizu to make a mistake.

Meizu, although more skilled than each individual clones, was overwhelmed due to sheer numbers. For every shadow clone he slashed through, two more took its place. On one particularly wild swing, a clone managed to grab Meizu's right arm, effectively trapping the metal claw. Soon more clones grabbed onto the missing-nin, dragging him to the ground and pinning him down. They disarmed him and held a kunai to his throat, ending his struggles by threat of death. The only thing Meizu could do was shout profanities before a clone slammed the hilt of a kunai into the back of his head, sending Meizu into the world of unconsciousness.

Kage attacked Gozu, using the longer range of his weapon to keep Gozu's poisoned claw at a safe distance. He and Gozu were about evenly matched. The width of Gozu's claws allowed him to easily block Kage's strikes, and its size allowed him to maneuver it easily. Kage's reactions allowed him to dodge Gozu's counterstrikes, barely dancing out of the poisoned weapon's reach each time. Hinata stayed at the edges of the fight, close enough to intervene if necessary and distract Gozu, but far enough that he could not strike at her without opening himself to Kage. Hinata waited for an opening; Gozu had almost two feet of reach more than her, so it was best to let Kage do most of the fighting.

Gozu lunged, and Kage quickly reached into his kunai pouch and drew a regular kunai with his left hand. He made an X shape with his katana and kunai, trapping the claws a scant inch from his face. Hinata didn't need to be told this was her opening. She dashed in, although Gozu was already freeing his claw, and got three good strikes in, and one on his kidney, before jumping away to avoid a slash.

Kage made a downward slash, forcing Gozu to redirect his attention again and block. Unable to react due to his numbed muscles and unable to move his upper body its full range, Gozu realized he was going to lose the fight at this rate. He began to wildly parry Kage's blows, hoping to force him off balance and get a quick kill before focusing on the girl.

The black-haired genin threw a feint at Gozu's left side, and Gozu fell for it, flinging his claw out to block a non-existant slash. Kage took the opening and stabbed Gozu through the stomach with his katana. He quickly followed up with a slash from the kunai with his left hand, cutting through Gozu's mask and opening his throat. Gozu died almost instantly. Kage pulled his sword out and wiped it on Gozu's clothes before sheathing it, doing the same with his kunai.

The black-haired boy looked over at his brother. As expected, Naruto was able to subdue the other attacker by flooding him with shadow clones. Luckily, none of the three teammates had gotten even a scratch.

"Well done." Kakashi said, stepping out of the trees, reading a familiar orange book.

His three students gave him a WTF look. "Kakashi-sensei! You're alive……Why the hell didn't you help us?!" Naruto shouted after a few moments of silence.

The jonin shrugged and turned the page. "You guys didn't need it." _Incredible. Their skills are far better than I expected, even from the Rookie of the Year, the top kunoichi of their class, and the Yondaime's son. _

"Why did you let the brats fight? I could have been killed." Tazuna hissed.

"Oh, if I wanted to I could have killed these two…" Kakashi gestured to the man pinned to the floor and the man lying in a pool of his own blood. "…but I wanted to find out who they were after. It would be highly unlikely for two ninja to attack a full team. It might be because I have a decent-sized bounty on my head, but they kept attacking after they thought they killed me. They were after you, Tazuna, and you know that. The C-rank mission we're on only involves protecting you from standard thieves and bandits, not ninja. My team could have been killed due to your lies." Kakashi had a dangerous glint in his eye.

Hinata paled at the word 'killed', and rushed off into the trees. Kage noticed this. He rolled his eyes.

"Sensei, nii-san, go set up camp. If these two were working with others close by, they would have attacked at the same time. I'll go after Hinata-chan. Don't bother to come looking for us. We'll be back soon." Naruto and Kakashi nodded as Kage walked off.

_Hmm, interesting. _Kakashi thought. _Naruto seems to defer to Kage in all areas of planning, yet Kage follows whatever course of action Naruto takes. Hinata used to seem like she had a crush on Naruto, but now she's acting...different. What a fascinating group I have here. Oh well, time to focus on the present._

He turned towards Tazuna, who saw his life flash before his eyes. Too bad it wasn't much, just a bunch of scenes of his childhood and most of his adult life getting drunk.

* * *

Kage found Hinata puking into the bushes. He stood behind her and held her semi-long hair back as she threw up.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Kage asked when she was finished. Hinata stared at him in shock.

"Kage, we just killed a man! What do y-you mean, 'What's wrong?'" Hinata hissed.

Kage shrugged. "So? He would have killed us."

"And we killed him instead. His corpse is r-rotting on the ground. Doesn't that make you feel anything?"

Kage's face immediately went blank, a look of cold detachment crawling over his features. "He wasn't my first." Kage said in a monotone. "I've killed before. I don't like it. But to protect my family, I am willing to do anything. Even if they hate me for it." He walked away stiffly.

"Kage, wait!" Hinata called out. Kage turned around, the terrible look of nothingness still on his face. "I don't hate you, I'm just a little………confused. I just need to think s-some things through. Can you stay with me? I don't want to be alone right now."

Kage's face softened. He walked back to Hinata. Together, they lay back down among the grass, looking up at the full moon. Eventually, Hinata spoke.

"I know what we did is necessary. I don't have to like it, but I'll do it again i-if I have to."

Kage nodded his understanding. "We should get back to camp. I'm sure Kakashi sensei is done grilling the client and the perp."

As they walked back to camp, Hinata's words echoed in Kage's thoughts. _There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that I removed a threat to my family, even when I kill. Does that make me a bad person? _

* * *

Back at camp, Tazuna had quickly explained the economical situation of his country. If he couldn't build the bridge, Gatou would retain a complete monopoly over the inhabitants of the Land of Waves. Knowing this, Gatou had hired ninja's to assassinate Tazuna. The Land of Waves was poor, and the only mission they could afford was a C-rank.

Kakashi frowned, now slightly calmer. "Hmmm. We're almost definitely going to be facing more ninja on this mission, making it at least an A-rank. It definitely causes problems when you lie about the mission specs. My team may be unready for this."

"Please!" Tazuna begged. "My people need this. If it's about the money, we'll pay you once we get back on our feet. We'll be ruined for several generations if I can't complete this bridge! My grandson and daughter will be among hundreds who will die of starvation."

"I understand your reasons, but I still need to ask my team."

Predictably, Naruto was the first to answer. "Kakashi-sensei, I think we should do this. Hundreds of people will die if we don't. Besides, what kind of Hokage would I be if I ran away at the first sign of trouble?"

"I see. Hinata?"

"Naruto is right, sensei. I for one can't just turn my back and forget about this. I would be haunted by my conscience for the rest of my l-life." Neither Naruto nor Kage missed the lack of '-kun' at the end of Naruto's name.

"Kage?"

"Why the hell does my opinion always come last? First Iruka, then the Hokage, then you?" Kakashi sweatdropped, and Kage continued. "Whatever. I'm in. That was a two-man chunin team, and we were able to defeat them without your help. If we run into anyone stronger, you should be able to defeat them."

Kakashi nodded, proud of his students. He remembered one of his own missions, with Rin, Obito, and Minato-sensei. Ironic, really. His team's mission was to destroy a bridge, and now his students' mission was to make sure an important build was built.

"Fine. Get to sleep, you three. We still have long days ahead of us."

As Naruto and Kage went into their respective tents, Hinata waited behind to ask her sensei one last question.

"Kakashi-sensei, what happened to the last ninja?" She asked, although she probably already knew the answer.

"What was necessary." Kakashi replied. _I'm sorry, but you'll have to get used to it. A ninja's life is filled with blood and death. Find the few moments of light and happiness, and cherish those moments. Sometimes, they're all you have._

* * *

_A few days later…_

"Finally, we're almost there! Just half a day's walk and I can sleep in a nice, warm bed." Naruto shouted.

Kage restrained himself from hitting his brother upside the head. "Naruto-nii-san, what is the point of sneaking all the way here if you're just going to announce our presence to the world with your loud mouth?"

"Chill out, nii-san. No one's gonna attack us this close—aahh!"

Hinata sensed a presence and immediately threw a shuriken. It passed right by Naruto's face, almost cutting his cheek, and went into a bush.

Kage raised an eyebrow. He knew Hinata was still mad at Naruto, but attacking him was going a bit far, wasn't it? "Nee-chan, I'm going to assume you didn't just attack nii-san for no good reason."

Hinata shook her head. "No, I felt something. Byakugan!" She activated her blood limit and looked in the direction of the projectile. Kage realized he sensed something, or someone, too, and drew his sword. However, he faced a different direction, scanning the area.

Hinata immediately saw what she sensed and deactivated her Byakugan. "Oh. It's just a rabbit." Her team sweatdropped.

Suddenly, Kakashi head the familiar whooshing sound of an object moving through the air at high speeds. "GET DOWN!" he shouted. He tackled Naruto to the ground, and Kage tackled Hinata to the ground. A massive zanbatou flew over their heads and slammed into a tree. A bandaged man body flicked, standing on top of the sword's handle.

_Damn it, it's_ him! _There's no one else it could be._ Kakashi thought.

"Protect Tazuna at all costs. This one's mine." The Jonin ordered, lifting his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye. "Under no circumstances are you to enter the fight."

The enemy shinobi chucked. "The Sharingan, a doujutsu that can copy any technique instantly, shown to me already? I'm honored, Copy-nin Kakashi."

Suddenly, the bandaged man appeared in the middle of Team 7's defensive formation, ready to decapitate all of them. Kakashi turned around and blocked the swing of the sword with a kunai, grunting under the weight. Suddenly, he poofed into smoke. The real Kakashi appeared behind the ronin and stated "It's over."

Kakashi cut the man's throat, and out of the gaping wound poured……blood? The bandaged man dissolved into water.

"I'm not that easy to kill." A sword cut Kakashi in half, revealing his inner organs, which turned into… more water?

Again, Kakashi appeared behind the Zanbatou wielder, but this time, the man kicked Kakashi to the side before he could attack. The Jonin landed on his feet on a nearby lake, his opponent quickly jumping after him. Before Kakashi could recover, Zabuza started making handseals.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (**Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu**)!" A massive dragon formed of water crashed down on Kakashi, forcing him under the surface of the water.

"I, Momichi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist, declare this battle over." Zabuza said, forming handseals. "Suiro no Jutsu **(Water Prison Technique)!**" An orb of water enveloped Kakashi, trapping him inside. At the same time, a clone of the bandaged man rose up out of the water. Zabuza turned to face Team 7.

"Heh. You're a bunch of kids, wearing those headbands and acting like real ninja. A real ninja has looked death in the face so many times it becomes a part of every day life. You can't call yourselves real ninja, you're still wet behind the ears."

The water clone began to approach them, and Kakashi yelled, "Take the client and run away. You have no chance of beating him, but as long as he's holding me in this prison he can't move. The clone can't go very far from his body. I got careless; this fight was over the moment I got captured. There's no reason for you four to pay for my mistakes…"

Naruto cut his sensei off quickly. "'Ninja who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.' Isn't that what you told us?"

Zabuza laughed before Kakashi could respond. "Still acting like ninja, huh. This is a joke, I mean, look at you." He pointed at Kage. "You think it's cool to carry around a sword? That thing's so thin…"

(**Remember, Kage's katana is basically a kunai stretched so that the blade is three feet long. The handle is long enough that he can wield it with two hands, but he can also wield it using only one hand because it is so light: the blade is still only an inch across. The pommel still has a hole in it, and there is no tsuba [guard] on the top of the hilt.)**

Suddenly, the water clone rushed Kage with a downward slash, who blocked with his right hand on the hilt and his left hand at the tip, on the flat of the blade. "…THAT I CAN BREAK IT WITH ONE HIT!" The two blades collided, and Kage fell to one knee due to the impact, but the kunai-katana didn't break. Kage pushed the surprised clone's blade to the side and slashed at his legs, cutting through him at the knees. The clone promptly turned to water as it died.

"Naruto, make some shadow clones to attack Zabuza when he's distracted. Trust me, you'll know when. Hinata, your chakra control should be good enough to make a shadow clone form several feet away. Make a single shadow clone, but form it under the water. If Naruto's clones fail, have your clone grab his legs. I'll take care of the rest." Kage ordered softly.

The brown-eyed genin stood up above the spilled water of his enemy. "Naruto, Hinata, leave him to me." He announced loudly, hoping to fool Zabuza, and jumped onto the water, thankful that Hinata had taught them water-walking with chakra.

Zabuza raised a hairless eyebrow. "Interesting. That sword is not made of ordinary metal, is it? Oh well, brat, it doesn't matter. What makes you think you can defeat me if the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan couldn't even give me a scratch?"

"I may not have the Sharingan, but I don't need it to copy your moves." Kage placed the handle of his sword in his mouth and bit down, freeing his hands. "Geh' uh loah' o' thith! (Get a load of this!). Ox-Monkey-Hare-Rat-Boar-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Rooster-Rat-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Ox-Sheep-Snake-Boar-Sheep-Rat-Monkey-Rooster-Dragon-Rooster-Ox-Horse-Sheep-Tiger-Snake-Boar-Rat-Monkey-Hare-Boar-Dragon-Sheep-Rat-Ox-Monkey-Rooster-Boar-Rat-Snake-Rooster!"

_Incredible._ Kakashi thought, looking on in amazement. _He only saw it once, yet he was able to memorize all 44 seals. Without the Sharingan, too!_

Naruto and Hinata gasped in surprise, but stuck to their instructions.

Zazuba was impressed. This kid reminded him of Haku. Hell, he and Haku even had the same eye color and skin tones. Not that he looked like a woman, but by the genin's visual analyzing skills.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (**Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu**)!" Kage called out, finishing the Rooster handseal.

Zabuza prepared for the attack. Kakashi waited. Kage waited. Naruto, Hinata, and Tazuna waited.

…

…

Nothing happened. Kage sweatdropped. _Shit, why isn't this working? I know for a fact that I got all seals correct._

Kakashi would have facepalmed himself if he could move. _Damn, Kage must have absolutely no water chakra affinity. I'm going to have to teach them about that if I can get out of this. I hope you three have a better plan than that…_

Zabuza started laughing, and Naruto saw the perfect opportunity to attack. He created a dozen shadow clones, all of whom mobbed Zabuza. The missing-nin did a weird half-jump spinning kick, his foot tracing out one half of an infinity sign before completing the shape with his other foot, dispelling all of the clones. Hinata noticed that he kept one foot on the water and one hand in the sphere at all times. She made her own shadow clone, making sure it formed underneath of the water.

The Hyuga heiress nodded to Kage. He immediately rushed Zabuza, who scowled. Zabuza couldn't use his sword; one hand was forming a seal to keep the water prison viable, and the other was in the prison funneling chakra. He was about to kick the brown-eyed genin away when he felt two deceptively soft hands grab his ankles in a tight grip.

Kage slashed at the hand holding the prison. Zabuza cursed and released the jutsu, using a chakra powered jump to launch himself ten feet into the air. He pulled Hinata with him, as she was still holding onto his legs. In a fit of rage, Zabuza cut through her with his zanbatou, but she turned out to be a shadow clone as well, dispelling in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi rose to his feet, his Sharingan eye blazing. "Good job, you three. I'll take it from here." Which the three genin translated as: _I'd like to bitch at you for disobeying me, but you _did_ just save my life._

"Kage, _this_ is how you do it." Kakashi said, realized what Zabuza was about to do.

They each went through 18 handseals, each racing to complete it first.

"You can't beat me you—" Zabuza started to say. _3…4…5_

"…damn monkey." Kakashi finished. _11…12…13_

Zabuza's eyes widened, although he kept going with his handseals. _What? Is he…_

"…Reading my mind?" Kakashi finished the seals. _17…18…Done!_

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu **(Water Vortex Jutsu)**!"

A massive vortex of water smashed into Zabuza, crushing him into a tree with its pressure. "Impossible." Zabuza gasped out. "How could you copy my moves before I made them? Can your eye see the future?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered. "But I'm afraid you don't have one."

Kakashi was just about to finish Zabuza when two senbon needles thunked into Zabuza's neck, who fell to the floor lifelessly.

A hunter nin with the symbol of the village Kirigakure appeared, landing right next to the body. "You're right, he doesn't. I must thank you for tiring him out, I alone do not have the skills required to defeat Zabuza. Now I must dispose of this body." The hunter nin made to pick up the body.

Kakashi felt something was off. _Wait a second, hunter-nins are supposed to destroy the body on the spot and take only the head for identification._ "Hey wait—"

Seeing that the ruse was over, the hunter nin through a single senbon into Kakashi's left kneecap, going through his ACL tendon. As the jonin fell to the ground, the masked ninja grabbed Zabuza's body and Shushin'd away.

"Damn it." Kakashi growled, standing up with some difficulty. Naruto, Hinata, and Kage ran up to him, Tazuna not far behind. Kakashi gritted his teeth and ripped the senbon out of his leg, checking the wound. He wouldn't be able to do any prolonged major activity for long, at least until he got back to Konoha and got healed.

Tazuna bowed lowly. "Forgive me; it seems I have underestimated you three. As my apology, I would like to offer you three my place to stay at for the remainder of this mission."

Kakashi nodded, then collapsed to the ground. _I think I used too much chakra there._

Naruto made several shadow clones to pick up his sensei, and the group moved on, too tired to be wary of further attacks.

* * *

_Some time later…_

Tazuna had quickly brought his protectors home and introduced them to his daughter, Tsunami. Kakashi groaned on the bed he was laying on.

Kage, Naruto, and Hinata instantly realized their sensei was awake.

"Kakashi-sensei, who was that m-masked ninja? Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"At first I thought was a hunter nin of Kirigakure. Also known as body erasers, their job is to completely dispose of missing nins and traitors without leaving any trace behind. A ninja's body can reveal important information about its village, like ninjutsus used, special herbs, chakra types, and other things, like possible kekkei genkai. To prevent other villages from learning this information, hunter nins hunt down loose ends and completely eradicate them."

"That's why that wasn't a hunter nin. I think that guy simply put Zabuza into a near death state. Zabuza is still alive. He'll attack at a later time, probably a week, you three need to prepare."

Naruto, Hinata, and Kage were absolutely shocked, although Kage didn't show it.

After thinking about it, Naruto grinned at the chance of facing Zazuba again.

Hinata was slightly scared that Zabuza was still alive, but was determined to see the mission through.

Kage's face was absolutely blank. "Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean, 'us three need to prepare'? What about you?"

Kakashi sighed. "My leg is shot. In combat I'd most likely be a liability, I have almost no maneuverability with only one good leg. Against Zabuza, one of you has a better chance than me. In this next week, I want you to train yourself to death. If you don't become better than you are now, you _will_ die, guaranteed. I'm sorry, but that's how it is, accept it or quit the mission."

"You should quit now." A small cold voice came from the corner of the room. The occupants turned to see a small boy.

"Inari, hush." Tsunami scolded.

"No, mom. They will all die. It's useless to try to fight against Gatou. He's too strong; if we try to oppose him he'll just kill us too." Inari yelled

A strong killing intent filled the room, a dark, suffocating presence. Kakashi's head darted around: such a strong feeling couldn't come from genin or civilians. His black-haired student stood up, and Kakashi realized it was coming from Kage.

Kage smoothly pulled out a regular kunai and slid the handle into Inari's frozen palm, closing the boy's fingers around the weapon. "Then just kill yourself, if you believe you're going to die."

When Inari didn't respond, Kage raised an eyebrow. "Too scared? That's okay, I'll do it for you." He took the kunai and drove it towards Inari's face.

Tsunami screamed. "STOP!" The tip of the kunai halted a millimeter from Inari's unblinking eye. Kage glanced over to Tsunami, then continued to talk.

"Gatou is already killing you right now. If you refuse to defend yourself, you are letting him kill you, and thus you are already killing yourself slowly. The question is, do you want to die, or are you willing to protect yourself and your loved ones?" Kage put the kunai in Inari's pocket and patted it. "Think about it. What you do with that knife is your answer."

Kage stood up, looking at his teammates and sensei. "I'm going out to train before I go to sleep. You can try to find me, but you'll probably be wasting your time." Being a ninja, he opened the window and jumped out of the second story, instead of using the stairs and the front door like regular people.

Inari suddenly ran to his room, crying. Tsunami sighed. "I'm sorry, he's been like that ever since Kaiza died. He saw him like a father figure; when Gatou killed him it broke something within my son."

Naruto frowned and stood up. "I'm going to go talk to him."

Hinata nodded. For some reason, she felt like she wanted to go see Kage. "Fine. I'll go try to find nii-san. He may be able to h-hide his chakra signature, but his body is still there. Maybe with my Byakugan I'll f-find him." She left through the window.

* * *

Naruto went upstairs to find a crying Inari holding a picture of his stepfather.

"Kage-nii-san was a little bit harsh, but he's right, you know." Naruto started.

"No, he knows nothing! What do you know about my suffering?"

Naruto frowned darkly. _This kid doesn't even begin to comprehend the meaning of the word 'suffering'._ "Kid, how many meals do you eat in a day?"

"T-Three." Inari replied through his sobs.

Naruto snorted. "That's how much Kage ate in a week when he was your age. How many times have you been beaten to death?"

Inari was so surprised he stopped crying. "None."

Before he could ask why, Naruto took the kunai out of Inari's pocket and slammed it through his hand, gritting his teeth with the pain, but not making a sound. "You know what? This doesn't even hurt." Naruto lied. "I've been beaten, stabbed, poisoned, strangled, drowned, and burnt so many times I'm almost used to it. But you know what?" Naruto pulled the kunai out, and before their very eyes the wound started to close up. Inari watched in amazement as new flesh formed. In just under a minute, Naruto's hand was as good as new.

"I'd always get better, and then people would continue. Sometimes, I'd die multiple times in one night. But one day, everyone stopped. Do you want to know why?"

Inari nodded. "One day, a mob had just beaten me to a pulp. My brother killed almost all of them, and the last man now lives in a hospital, able to squirm around like a worm and speak. That's why he was so disgusted at you. You think your life is horrible; you don't even begin to understand pain. All you're doing is letting people take advantage of you. A ninja……is just a killing machine. But what you kill for……that is what determines what kind of person you are."

Naruto handed Inari the bloody kunai. "Keep it. Kami forbid, but maybe one day you will find out what kind of person you are, too."

Naruto left the room. A stunned Inari looked at the bloody kunai in his hand.

* * *

After almost an hour of searching, Hinata finally found Kage. She had to rely almost exclusively on her Byakugan, as Kage had masked his chakra signature fully. She watched him practicing a series of kata with his sword only in his left hand.

A dim region of Kage mind realized Hinata's presence, but Kage didn't care; he was too focused. Wielding his blade in his left hand, he cut through the air gracefully, decapitating and impaling imaginary enemies.

Parting the Waterfall…flows into Fury of the Tiger…flows into Dance of the Swallow…flows into Peeling the Red Camellia…flows into…

Kage went on and on, fighting the exhaustion and pain he felt, unused to using his katana in his left hand. At some point, his forearm gave out in a spasm, and he dropped the sword, falling to his knees. The brown-eyed boy gasped as he tried to regain his breath.

Hinata saw Kage fall and immediately jumped to his side. He waved her away and shakily stood up on his own.

"Kage-kun…"

"Do you think I was a bit harsh?" Kage asked rhetorically. "With his attitude, he's in for a rude awakening one day or another. Maybe this way, he won't die when things go pear-shaped."

"Is life and death a-all you think about?" Hinata asked without malice, deciding to just drop the whole situation about Inari.

Kage shrugged, and started stretching so his muscles didn't cramp up. "Probably. That's what I'm doing out here, I'm trying to think of a plan so we don't get killed. Life's tough, _hime_, I just do what I have to do to get by."

Hinata frowned at her new nickname. "Hime? Princess?"

Kage smirked at her before moving on to a calf stretch. "Yeah. You're the heiress of the Hyuga clan; doesn't that make you like a princess?"

Hinata scowled at him before thinking of a comeback. "Oh yeah? Well I guess that makes you a _kimi_, doesn't it? The brother of a princess is a p-prince."

Kage kept a smile on his face, although he was kind of annoyed. _I can put up with my nickname longer than she can put up with hers._ "Well, I need rest if I'm going to train all week. I'm going to head back and go to sleep. May I escort you home, Hinata-hime?" He said somewhat sarcastically, offering Hinata his arm in a mocking gesture.

Hinata smiled back sharply, although in a peeved but friendly manner. "I would like that, Kage-kimi." She took his arm in a dainty fashion.

Sardonically, the two friends walked home.

_Somewhere else_…

Zabuza's eyes shot open. "I'm going to kill those brats."

**A/N: Fin.**

**In case you don't know, hime means princess and kimi means prince. So Hinata-hime means Princess Hinata and Kage-kimi means Prince Kage.**

**Alternately, Hinata can mean bright (as in light), or a sunny place. Kage means shadow. So Hinata-hime and Kage-kimi can mean Princess of Light and Prince of Shadows. Interesting, huh?**

**A little bit of interesting ****Onomastics (study of names) right there.**

**Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! I mean, hell, you've obviously spent some time reading it. Can't you spend 30 seconds to review it?**

**Or is that too 'troublesome' for you?**

**Shikamaru: I resent that.**

**Jaytang: Shut up. No one cares what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7: Battle on the Bridge

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

1/5/2010

* * *

Chapter 7: Battle on the Bridge

"Tatsu Kaen Danmaku! **(Dragon Flame Blitz)**!"

Kage shot multiple fireballs at Naruto and Hinata, who were doing their best to dodge. Together, Naruto and Hinata dodged the fireballs in tandem.

When the jutsu was over, Kage winced as he fell to his knees, winded from the jutsu he had just used. It actually wasn't really an original jutsu; he just used the Fireball Jutsu multiple times and called it something else.

Hinata and Naruto also fell to their knees, exhausted by their quick dashes and changes in directions. Even so, Kage noticed that Hinata still had the strength to glare at Naruto, and frowned. Even when they worked together, Hinata and Naruto still didn't get along, which was a major problem. Kage had no idea how to smooth things over between them, so he had decided to just let them work it out themselves.

Kage forced himself to stand. He would not give in to mere fatigue, and he would not let his family die as a result of laziness. "That's enough rest time." Kage's voice was rough; his throat parched.

"Nii-san, I want you to meditate for the next three hours. I read something interesting lately. Some cultures believe that fighting in a primal state is the most effective offense. Perhaps you will unlock your inner beast, and he will give you the power you need to survive." Kage said vaguely.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what his brother wanted. _Kage wants me to try to contact the Kyuubi! Shit! Although, maybe it may be just what we need. After all, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is the most powerful of the tailed demons. I really should tell nee-chan soon._ Naruto nodded, but said "What? Nii-san, why do you want me to do something useless like that?"

Kage had known Naruto long enough to know that his blonde brother understood the hidden meaning. "Because I'm your older brother, and I'm telling you to. Hinata-chan, come with me please. I have something I'd like to show you."

As Kage and Hinata left to do something else, Naruto pulled himself into a crossed-leg position and closed his eyes. With a spinning feeling, the Jinchuriki entered his mindscape.

This time, Naruto appeared right in front of his resident's cage. The Kyuubi was merrily singing a song to himself.

"**Oh, looking at you, through the glass**

**When I don't know how much time has passed**

**I only know that it feels like forever**

**But no one ever tells you, that forever feels like home**

**When I'm sitting all alone**

**Inside your heeeeaaaaad."**

Naruto cleared his throat, and the giant fox shot up, surprised. Naruto thought that if he was a human, the giant fox would be blushing.

"**Oh, its you, kit. What do you want now?"** The Kyuubi growled, more embarrassed than angry.

Naruto quickly explained the whole situation his team was in. It felt good to get things off his chest, and it's not like the demon fox would or could tell anyone else.

"**Hmmm.**" The Kyuubi mused, stroking its chin with one of its nine tails. **"Well, kit, I can understand where you're coming from. If it were my litermates I'd do anything I could to protect them. Very well, I'll lend you some of my chakra, but ONLY when you need it. Excessive use of my chakra will shorten my lifespan."**

"Wait a minute, don't you mean shorten _my_ lifespan? As in, not yours?" Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi gave him a peeved look. Kind of. What can you expect, he's a giant fox! **"No, kit, **_**my**_** lifespan. I'm sealed in you, but we are constantly merging, becoming closer and closer to one entity. After you die, of course, I will be reincarnated; as such a large mass of chakra can simply not just stop existing. It will just take me a few centuries or so to reform. But when you use my chakra, it speeds up the unification process. I don't want to have to pull myself together so quickly, at least give me a few decades or so. Do you know how difficult it is to find the chakra manifestation of your spleen?"**

Naruto sweatdropped. "Um, no."

"**I thought not. Anyways, to draw my power is like using your own chakra, feel inside yourself and pull it out. Shape it to your will. I would advise against using my youkai to power any jutsus, though, the result will be unpredictable. Instead, draw it about yourself like a piece of clothing. Be warned, though: when you use my youkai, people will die. A lot of people, and in horrible ways." **

"Don't use it if I don't have to. Got it." Naruto faded away, leaving his mindscape.

When his jailer was completely gone, the Kyuubi no Kitsune chuckled sadly. **"No, kit, I don't think you do."**

"**Looking at you, through the glass…"**

* * *

_Elsewhere_…

**(A/N: Remember, whenever Hinata calls Kage kimi she is being sarcastic, likewise with Kage saying Hinata-hime.)**

"So what are we going to do, Kage-kimi?" Hinata asked.

"Well, you know how you can use chakra to stick to trees with your feet or your hands, thus improving your chakra control in those areas?" Kage started.

Hinata nodded, so Kage continued. "Well, there's absolutely no reason why you can't do it in the other tenketsu, right?"

To demonstrate, Kage jumped and turned in midair so that his back hit the tree. Focusing chakra through the tenketsu on his back, he stuck to the tree. (Imagine someone in a Velcro suit jumping onto a fuzzy wall).

Hinata couldn't help herself, she started cracking up. Her laughter came in fits, and the dark-blue haired girl wrapped her arms around her middle, fighting to prevent tears from coming out of her lavender eyes.

Kage scowled at Hinata, who kept laughing. As she caught her breath, she explained, "I'm sorry, that just seems like something…" Hinata starting laughing again. "…that Naruto would do!"

"WHAT?" Kage screamed in an outraged voice. "No, this is actually useful, unlike Oiroke no Jutsu or Harem Jutsu or some other stupid thing, watch!"

The black-haired boy began to spin around the tree, keeping a part of his body in contact with the bark at all times. Hinata stopped laughing as she realized he was using almost all of his tenketsus. "Wait a minute, you mean…"

"Yeah." Kage grinned, seeing that Hinata understood the potential of this seemingly frivolous exercise. "It trains me to release chakra from all 361 tenketsu. You know what that means, don't you?"

Hinata nodded, smiling brilliantly. "Yes. Oh, and Kage?"

"Yes?"

"What's Harem Jutsu?" Kage sweatdropped. _Oh, shit._

"Um, you'll have to ask Naruto. Bye!" Kage quickly rolled up the tree and out of sight.

* * *

Naruto woke up and saw an incredibly pretty girl with long, lustrous black hair and brown eyes. _Wow, she's beautiful! That's probably what nii-san would look like if he used Oiroke no Jutsu…Okay, that was a disgusting thought. Eeeeeewwwww! Why would I even think of that?_

The girl looked over to him and gave him a beautiful smile. "You'll catch a cold falling asleep out here. What are you doing out here, anyways?"

"Training!" Naruto replied, as he very well couldn't say _Oh, the usual, just talking with the most powerful of the nine biju._ "I want to become the strongest ninja in my village!"

The girl's smile lessened a little bit. "Why do you want to become strong? Is it just because you want others to acknowledge or respect you, or because you just want more power?

Naruto frowned. The way she said it, it just seemed so hollow. "No, I need to be strong so that I can protect the people close to me. Not just my nii-san and nee-chan, but every in my village. I want power so I can become Hokage, I want to be Hokage so I can protect everyone."

The girl's smile came back with its full shine. "Good. I believe a person can only truly be strong when they are protecting something precious to them." She stood up and prepared to leave. _He seems like a nice enough boy. I hope I won't have to kill him, but I will do as Zabuza-sama commands._

"Oh, and by the way……I'm a boy."

Naruto face-faulted as the … androgynous something walked away. _NANI?_

* * *

_Last night before Zabuza attacks, Tazuna's house…_

Kage sighed as he looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there is a 65% chance we will successfully defeat Zabuza and his accomplice with the plan I've set up. The bad news is that there is a 43% chance one of us will die. Do you two still want to go through with this?"

Hinata was the first to answer. "Y-Yes."

Naruto nodded. "I'm not going to back out now."

Kage sighed again. "I figured you two would say that. Well, here's how this is going to go down."

"You two will lure Zabuza off of the bridge before engaging him in real combat. Naruto, you should spam as many shadow clones as possible to prevent him from getting back to the water. Without a source of water, most of his jutsu will be completely ineffective. Hinata, henge yourself into Naruto and hide among the shadow clones. If, and _only if_, you think you have a 100% chance of hitting Zabuza with Hakke Sanjuni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms) and getting away, do it. It should be enough to stop him, although I wouldn't be surprised if he still has the strength to stand up."

"As for myself, Zabuza probably sees me as the biggest threat with the stunt I pulled last time. I'll stand a little bit off from you guys so that I stand out like a sore thumb. I think he'll have his assistant take me out." Kage gave a small chuckle at Naruto and Hinata's shocked faces. "Don't worry, I'm hard to kill. The thing is, we've seen a little bit of how Zabuza fights with kenjutsu and taijutsu, but we haven't seen what his friend can do. I have the best reactions and analytical skills, so I am the obvious choice to face the unknown opponent."

Kakashi winced as he sat up. He was recovered enough to hobble around on crutches, but it wasn't good enough. Kakashi could throw weapons and do jutsu, but against serious opponents, it wouldn't be any good. "Kage, are you sure you want to do that? There's a difference between being confident and being arrogant."

Kage shrugged. "Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Inu-san."

Kakashi rocked back, shaken. That was what Kage had called him the very first time they met. The day Kage awakened his kekkei genkai, the one he had always denied having. Kakashi understood that Kage was tacitly acknowledging that he had a blood limit. Kakashi gave his student a small nod of trust, hoping it would be enough.

Kage continued. "Okay. So this is what we're going to do tomorrow…"

* * *

_After some time…_

"Okay, so everyone understands the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Good, I'm going to sleep. Hopefully not for the last time." Kage said, a troubled look on his usually stoic face.

"Hey nii-san, you're looking a little worried." Naruto taunted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey nii-san, the sky looked a little bit blue this afternoon." Kage replied sarcastically. He gave his friends a rare smile, something he almost never did. "Don't worry, you two. We'll get though this." _Hopefully_. He added in his mind as he walked away.

"Well, I'm going to turn in." Kakashi said in a depressed manner, disappointed that he couldn't do anything to help. Basically, his plan was to stay with Tazuna's family in the off chance Zabuza's employer sent thugs by. He went to his bedroom.

"Well, 'night Hinata-nee-chan." Naruto said, not expecting a response.

Hinata stared at the ground. "Naruto, wait!" Naruto, who was just about to close the door on his room, stopped and turned to look at Hinata.

"In case one of us d-dies tomorrow, I just want you to know that I…" Hinata paused momentarily. "…don't h-hate you. No, let me finish." Hinata added, seeing Naruto's opening mouth.

"In the past few weeks I've been thinking about what I felt for you back at the Academy. I realized that I was sort of like a fangirl, chasing after an image of someone who didn't like me back in that way. If…When we get through this, I'd like it if we could go back to being friends."

Naruto smiled back and walked over to Hinata. He pulled the Hyuga into a hug. "I'd like that, Hinata."

* * *

_The next day…_

Zabuza stared at the bridge builder and the three brats from far away. "Haku," he growled, "I'm going to cover up most of the bridge with mist. Take the boy with black hair. I'll deal with the other two and the bridge builder."

Haku nodded, slipping on his mask. "Yes, Zabuza-sama."

Tazuna was anxiously looking around the middle of the bridge. Naruto was pacing back and forth on the bridge and Hinata was sitting on the ground next to Tazuna, occasionally activating her Byakugan to check for enemies before letting it drop, not wanting to use any more chakra than necessary. Kage was sitting in a meditation pose almost fifty feet away, near the end of the almost-complete bridge.

Naruto groaned. "Come on, Kage-nii-san! You said you were absolutely certain he would come by now." He called out.

"He is, right now." Kage stated, not turning around. As if on cue, a thick mist rolled onto the bridge, obscuring the front and middle of the bridge. It only covered Hinata, Naruto, and Tazuna, as Kage was on the other side. Within seconds, the mist was so thick that visibility was less than six inches.

"How do like my Kirigakure no Jutsu?" Zabuza's disembodied voice sounded like it came from all directions. "Too bad you've obviously never seen it before."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped. "Naruto-kun, the mist is heavily laced with chakra! I can't see through it."

"There are eight places on the body that will result in instant death. Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, heart, and kidney… so many choices. Too bad I only get to pick three."

Kage stood up, intending to go help his teammates, but the hunter nin from before was standing between him and his friends. "I'm afraid your battle is with me."

Kage cursed. At least he could still see fine in his area, even if Naruto and Hinata could not in theirs.

* * *

_Tazuna's house…_

Tsunami was making dinner when suddenly, two rogue samurai broke through the wall. She screamed as one of the ronin cut through the dinner table.

Inari heard his mom's scream and rushed downstairs to see two scary-looking men with swords. One man, who had an eyepatch, looked at him, then his partner. "We only need one hostage. Can I?"

"No!" Tsunami warned. "If you touch my son I'll bite my tongue off and drown in my own blood! Inari, run away! Don't worry about me!"

Inari froze as the two thugs grabbed his mother and began to walk away. His hand brushed something metallic and crusty in his pocket. He remembered what Kaiza had once said, right after he had saved Inari from drowning.

* * *

_Flashback…_

"I was so scared I couldn't move." Inari said, sobbing. "I wanted to save Pochi, but I don't have any courage."

Kaiza reached over and ruffled Inari's hair. "Yeah… any kid your age would be afraid. But remember this: real men live a life without regrets. If there is something precious to you protect it. No matter how weak, sad, or terrified you may be, you must always try and try. Even if you die as a result, as least you died for something…"

_End Flashback_

"My mother is precious to me…" Inari said under his breath.

* * *

Waraji smiled as he looked at Tsunami. "Hey, Zori, I'm sure Gato-sama wouldn't mind if we took a little bit longer to deliver the hostage." He stroked her jaw with a finger and chuckled as she turned away. "In fact, he wouldn't even have to –OW!"

He hissed as he kicked a small boy away from his leg. Waraji looked at his thigh. A kunai was stuck in his thigh, going no more than half an inch in. "Stupid fucking brat! That's it, you're dead." Waraji slashed through the boy, ignoring Tsunami's screams as the boy's head flew off, letting his body crumple to the ground… making a wooden sound?

The boy's body turned into a wooden log with the top cut off.

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi announced, holding a frightened Inari and Tsunami. "I forgot to set the alarm clock. It was a pain in the ass getting down the stairs on crutches."

"Hah, Gato told us you could barely move!" Zori said triumphantly, drawing his own sword. "Prepare to die—Hey! Don't ignore us!"

Kakashi had opened his Icha Icha book. "Hmmm. Well, you are right in that I can barely move…"

Zori and Waraji's eyes widened as a voice behind them completed the sentence. "But who said anything about jutsus?" Kakashi murmured.

* * *

Zabuza silently cut through the blonde boy's neck and followed through with a stab to the dark-blue haired girl's heart. He liked those spots the most because they squirted out so much blood! He turned around to finish off the bridge builder, but he was already gone. Zabuza could hear his footsteps as the man fled in fear.

Beneath the bandages, Zabuza grinned. There was certainly a pleasure in the hunt. He silently followed Tazuna, trusting Haku to take care of the last genin.

Zabuza let Tazuna run all the way out of the mist, letting him think that he had somehow gotten away. He allowed the man a few more seconds of life before rushing forwards and tripping him. Zabuza relished the look of surprise on the old man's face before stabbing him through the gut.

* * *

"To take some words form a friend of mine…" Kage commented as he parried Haku's senbon with a regular kunai. "This is troublesome. I've had tons of girls chase me, but to have a guy go after me with such voracity is such a drag." Kage ducked under Haku's thrust and slammed his open left palm into Haku's chest, forcing him back. He silently wished he had drawn a kunai into both hands instead of just his right.

"You can tell I'm not a girl?" Haku asked, surprised. The two ninja began circling each other.

"Yeah. You carry your body differently than a girl would, and I'm pretty sure I didn't feel any boobs with that last hit." Kage slipped the kunai back into his pouch and drew his sword. "I'm sorry, but I need to end this now."

_A close combat type, huh?_ Haku thought. He put away his senbon. "Indeed. I am also sorry that we have to end this now. I haven't met anyone who could keep up with my speed in a while." He put his hands together in a weird seal. "The ground around us is covered in water. Makyo Hyosho (**Demonic Ice Mirrors**)."

Haku made a seal Kage had never seen before and the water on the surface of the bridge began to rise up, freezing into a dome of mirrors. Kage raised an eyebrow as an image of his enemy appeared in the mirror.

_Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! Think, damn it!_ Kage maintained his calm façade and came up with an idea. "Very interesting…… but fire melts ice, does it not?"

"Tatsu Kaen Danmaku! **(Dragon Flame Blitz)**!" Kage blew a fireball at each and every mirror, just incase all the images except for one was a clone.

As the smoke died down, Kage's eyes widened. _Impossible…_

* * *

Kakashi's shadow clone brushed dirt off of his hands before dispelling itself.

"Well, that worked better than I expected." Kakashi commented off-handedly. "I'm going to go see if I can't go help my team." Tsunami and Inari sweatdropped as the famed Copy Ninja hobbled away on his crutches.

Tazuna walked out of his house. "Can I come out now?" He asked no one in particular.

* * *

Zabuza twisted the blade in Tazuna's stomach. "It's over, old man." Surprisingly, Tazuna grinned. "No, it's just beginning."

Tazuna disappeared in a bunch of smoke, and before Zabuza could react he felt the Hyuga girl start striking at his tenketsu on his right arm, numbing the limb completely. Zabuza jumped away right as the girl entered an odd stance, not wanting to take a chance.

Zabuza cursed as he tried to make his way back to the bridge, only to be cut off by hundreds of blonde shadow clones. A couple dozen he would have no problem rushing through and slaughtering the lot of them, but with this many there'd be so many bodies Zabuza could easily lose track of an individual kunai, fist, or foot. As a professional, Zabuza knew that all it took was one mistake, sometimes. The bandaged man growled and backed up, letting the clones form a circle around him. At least this way, they could only come at him four or five at a time without getting in each other's way.

Zabuza checked his right arm and concluded it was completely useless. He would have to use his zanbatou, a weapon intended to be used with two hands, with only his left hand. Also, he couldn't even use jutsu, as even his fingers were non-responsive. He canceled the Hidden Mist jutsu to save his chakra; perhaps after a while he would regain feeling in his left hand and be able to use jutsu again.

"I have to hand it to you kids, you've got guts and the skills to back it up. Making shadow clones is a Jonin level skill. Impressive. Having one clone henged as the bridge builder? Smart. Tricking me into thinking I killed you, then letting the last clone lure me away from the water? Brilliant." Zabuza admitted softly. "You _are_ worthy of the title ninja. I haven't had this much trouble in a long time."

Zabuza took a ready stance. "It's a shame. Given a few more years, I'm sure you three would have made it into the Bingo Books."

There was no more talking for a while as they began to fight.

* * *

Even from this far away, Kakashi could feel the use of Momichi Zabuza's infamous technique, Kirigakure no Jutsu. He just hoped Kage's plan held up.

The legendary ninja kept hobbling closer and closer.

* * *

"W-What?" Kage stammered. "Why aren't the mirrors affected?"

"This ice is no ordinary ice." Haku explained. "I have a special kekkei genkai that allows me to form ice. The ice is held together with my chakra, and cannot be melted. It cannot be copied, as I am the last person to have the Hyoton bloodline." _Until I run out of chakra._ Haku thought. "You may be fast, but let me show you true speed.

Suddenly, senbon came from multiple mirrors at once, and there was no way for Kage to dodge all of them. Kage blocked or dodged as many projectiles as he could at once, but gritted his teeth as senbon hit him in his right thigh, upper back, and left forearm.

_So fast!_ The black-haired boy thought. His dark brown eyes darted around, but all the mirror images looked alike.

Kage shifted to the side as his mind registered a single projectile behind him. He twisted to the side, and the senbon aimed at his heart flew past him. _I almost didn't notice that one in time. First he through a mass of senbon, so I didn't expect him to only through a single one at my back._ He pulled out the three senbon in his body.

"I'm sorry." Haku repeated. "But Zabuza-sama has ordered me to kill you." He readied more senbon in his hands.

* * *

Zabuza slashed through several clones. He had long ago lost track of what wave this was. When none of the surrounding clones attacked him, the missing nin took a quick second to assess his situation again. He had received a small stab wound to his side, but it wasn't serious.

Naruto stepped forwards and opened with mouth to speak. Zabuza cut right through him, and as expected, he too was a clone.

"Were you about to tell me to surrender, that I have no chance of wining? Do you really think you can beat me?" Zabuza asked. "I may not be fighting anywhere close to my full potential, but we're still at a complete stalemate." He gave a bloodthirsty grin as he saw his subordinate activate his most prized jutsu. By the look of surprise on their faces, Zabuza could tell they saw it too.

All the Narutos' eyes widened as they saw Kage shoot a fireball at every mirror, only to have no effect.

Zabuza smiled. "You like it? Haku has a special blood limit that allows him to form unbreakable, un-meltable ice. Your friend may be fast, but against Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors speed means nothing. Once Haku is finished with your friend, he'll come by and help me, and then you're finished. After that, I'll hunt down the girl. Not much use besides the first sneak attack, was she?"

Surprisingly, Naruto grinned. "You're wrong on two counts. First of all, Kage has his own kekkei genkai, himself. I think it will counter your friend quite well." Zabuza's eyes widened. "Second of all…"

Zabuza heard a voice call out behind him: "Hakke Sanjuni Sho **(Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms)**!!!"

* * *

Haku flitted from mirror to mirror at speeds untraceable to the human eye, flinging senbon at his victim. As he settled into a mirror to pull out more senbon, he looked at his opponent, expecting him to be riddled with needles.

Haku's jaw dropped in shock behind his mask. Kage had his sword out in a striking position, and slivers of metal littered the ground around him. Not one more needle had touched him. Kage looked up and Haku saw that his eyes were now completely back, except for his sclera.

"Drugs?" Haku asked, referring to his opponents's expanded pupils. "Are you using body enhancing drugs to increase your reaction time and pain tolerance?"

Kage smiled coldly. "No. You're not the only one with good genes. I call this the Kokugan."

Haku dashed to another mirror, but felt a lancing pain in his side as a thrown kunai cut him. Instead of throwing more senbon and risk another injury, Haku hid in a mirror to analyze his opponent. _Interesting. His doujutsu must not only increase his field of vision, but also increase his perceptions and reaction time to the point where he can even hit me, moving at top speed!_ Haku noticed that the boy's eyes were flickering from their activated state to their regular appearance and back. _He must be running out of chakra, but then again, so am I. The longer I use this, the slower I'll get. I'll have to end it all with just one more move_.

Kage reached into his pocket for another kunai or shuriken to throw at Haku. _Damn it, that was my last one!_ Kage cursed himself as he remembered that he only ever carried two kunai and no shuriken. Usually, when he was trying to sneak around, his weapons pouch clanked around due to all the metal in it, so Kage usually took out almost all the weapons. _Great. I'm stuck to defense for now, and I'm running out of chakra._

Haku made a decision. He flitted from each and every mirror, pushing his body far past his normal limits. If he survived, Haku knew he would be bedridden for days. But for now, he threw senbon from _every_ mirror. Haku had heard that even the legendary all-seeing Byakugan had a small blind spot. Even if this boy's doujutsu had no blind spot, there was no way he could block or dodge every needle.

In slow motion, Kage saw all the senbon flying towards him. _There's no way I can block all of them. Only one thing I can do, and I'm not sure it will work…_ Kage quickly sheathed his sword and began spinning around like a kid who has had too much sugar. All this happened in less than a tenth of a second.

_What is he doing?_ Haku wondered. The senbon were milliseconds away from hitting him.

_There! I have enough speed now!_ "**HAKKESHO KAITEN (ROTATION)!!!**" Kage roared. Chakra poured out of each of his 361 tenketsu, and the spinning of his body made the chakra form a protective dome around Kage. Each senbon was blasted away before it could hit its target. Kage maintained the chakra output for as long as he could, which wasn't long considering how little chakra he had left. He slowly stopped spinning and saw the ice mirrors beginning to crack and melt. His opponent fell to the ground.

_So this is the end. I ran out of chakra and the mirrors collapsed. My most powerful jutsu was rendered useless by a genin._ Haku thought sadly. _I am sorry that I could not be a better tool, Zabuza-sama._

Kage looked at his downed opponent, feeling pity for some reason. Regardless, he drew his sword and hacked downward, severing Haku's head from his body. The black-haired boy looked down at his enemy's corpse, feeling the familiar mix of slight regret and satisfaction of the kill. He wiped his blade on the boy's clothing before walking back to his teammates.

* * *

Zabuza grunted in shock as the Hinata closed off 32 of his main tenketsu. The instant her last strike was finished, Hinata jumped away, releasing her henge, and Naruto's clones grabbed Zabuza who growled. If it weren't for everything, Zabuza could easily have thrown the clones off of him, but as it was, Zabuza was barely standing.

In horror, Zabuza heard a voice behind him. "Sorry I'm a little late, the road of life decided to almost sever my ACL tendon." Kakashi announced. "Let me introduce you to a little something I came up with in my ANBU days." The white-haired ninja went though only three seals: Ox. Rabbit. Monkey.

Chakra began to gather in his palm. There was a pop felt in the air, and the chakra started manifesting a physical appearance. Soon, it looked like Kakashi was holding pure lightning in his hand.

"Ordinarily, I'd need some speed to get any kind of penetrating power." Kakashi said. "But right now, you're a sitting duck; I can just hit a very vital spot." Zabuza tried to struggle out of the clones' grips, but couldn't.

"**Raikiri (Lightning Blade)!**" Kakashi brought the jutsu up and slammed it into Zabuza's throat. The electricity sizzled through the missing nin's throat.

"And so died the Demon of the Mist." Kakashi said melodramatically before he fell to his knees. _I definitely pushed myself too hard there. Maybe I should have let Naruto finish him. Nah, if sensei knew I willingly let his son do that he'd come back from the dead and kill me himself._

"Is everyone okay?" Kakashi choked out.

"Kage-kun!" Hinata suddenly thought about her other friend. She looked over to see Kage spinning rapidly in a familiar fashion. _Is he really…_

"**Kaiten!**" Kage roared, executing the Hyuga's ultimate defense. Hinata and Kakashi stared in shock, while Naruto was simply impressed because he didn't know what it was. Kakashi fainted, thinking: _Hinata's father would have an apoplectic fit if he learned that an outsider could execute the Hyuga clan's techniques._

The three ninja saw Kage's summary execution of his opponent.

* * *

Kage walked over to his teammates. He fell into a sitting position, Hinata and Naruto doing the same.

"You guys holding up alright?" Kage asked in a calm monotone, as if they hadn't just faced two missing nin.

"I'm around halfway out of chakra, but I have absolutely no wounds. Everyone else fine?" Hinata felt obliged to ask in the awkward silence.

"I'm mostly fine, but I'm almost completely out of chakra. Making all those clones and sustaining them, and holding a henge all day really took a lot out of me." _But at least I didn't have to use the Kyuubi's chakra._ Naruto added mentally.

"I have stab wounds in my legs, back, and arms, but I'll probably be fine." Kage said, pulling out a lose senbon that had gotten stuck in the folds of his clothing. "Nothing vital was hit, no muscle tissue badly damaged. I'm pretty low on chakra, too. I should have only used one fireball to test the mirrors instead of shooting a fireball at all of them." He casually used the senbon to clean out the tiny grooves in his sword before sheathing it.

"Oh, what was that last thing, you did, nii-san?" Naruto asked suddenly in childish manner. "That was freaking awesome—"

"Freaking awesome indeed." A man's voice said. Kage's sword was out in the blink of an eye, and the trio looked over to see a short man in a suit, backed up by several hundred thugs, rapists, murderers, and other hired criminals.

"I am impressed that three children like you could defeat a man like Zabuza Momochi and his assistant. His assistant alone incapacitated two of my best men in a blink." The man took off his glasses and stored them away in a pocket. "You may know of me. I am Gatou, of Gatou Shipping Corporation. I'm always looking for fresh blood and new talent to join me. Would you like to live a life of luxury in exchange for me occasionally calling on your services? So what do you say?"

"What are your intentions with the people in this village?" Kage called out, trying to stall for time.

Gatou frowned. "Well, I intend to wipe it off the map. The people of the Land of Waves are no longer of any use to me."

"We're never work for a murderous bastard like you." Naruto called out, forcing himself to his feet.

"Stupid nii-san." Kage growled, also coming to his feet. "Now he'll want to kill us now. You could have at least stalled for a while so we could regain a tiny bit of strength."

_Strength…_ Naruto remembered that the Kyuubi had told him that many people would die if he used the demonic chakra. But if he didn't stop the crowd of thugs, the people of the Land of Waves would die instead, and Naruto, Kage, Hinata, and Kakashi would die with them. It was better for these lowlifes to die instead.

Naruto took a few steps towards the crowd. "I'm going to use it." He said, more to himself than to anyone else.

Gato laughed. "Kid, what do you think you can do? You may have helped killed the Demon of the Bloody Mist, but you're just one little brat against hundreds of well-armed men."

Naruto closed his eyes and reached deep inside himself. True to his word, the Kyuubi gave Naruto youkai, and an orange aura began to build around Naruto, forming two ears and a single tail. Naruto's eyes turned red and his pupils became slits; his whiskers became incredibly defined. Naruto could feel his fatigue disappearing, and what seemed like unlimited strength take its place.

"**I'm going to show you a different kind of demon…**" Naruto growled. He clenched his hands; his fingernails had lengthened into claws, each as deadly as a kunai.

Hinata gasped in fear at the sinister aura Naruto was letting off. "K-Kage-kun, w-wh-what i-is h-h-happening?"

Kage ignored her question. "No matter what you see here, remember that we are your brothers and your friends. We will protect you no matter what. Always remember that."

Speechless, Hinata could only nod. Kage and walked next to Naruto, who glanced over.

"**What are you doing here?**" Naruto growled.

Kage casually picked at the drying blood in the etches of his kunai-katana with his fingernail. He looked at one side: it had an etching of a nine-tailed fox. The Kyuubi no Kitsune. Kage turned the blade over to study the other side: it had an etching of a dragon spewing flames from its mouth.

"I'm your nii-san." Kage answered. "Do you ever have strange dreams, nii-san? Not the puberty dreams, and not the aspiration dreams, but really odd, inexplicable dreams?" Kage asked casually, and then continued without waiting for an answer. You know, I always thought we were brothers in more than just one way."

Kage reached into himself and tried to draw out chakra. He felt himself scraping the bottom of the well, and came up with nothing. Kage focused, delved deeper into his core and tapped into a strange, inhuman chakra.

A red aura surrounded the black-haired boy, and his body began to change. Two bulges formed in the back of his shirt. There was a tearing sound, and two scaled wings ripped through the red t-shirt and black vest, tearing the clothing to shreds. Kage, now shirtless, flexed the wing and studied it. It looked like a bat wing, but it had crimson scales, with semi-translucent membranes. At the end of the wing there was a projection of bone sticking out. It looked like a white, biological blade, around a foot long. Kage estimated the length of one of the wings to be around 10 feet.

Kage experimented with his new muscles, and the wingtip flicked out in a perfect stabbing motion. Excellent. Kage felt the strength this odd chakra was giving him. He tried to focus the chakra into his hand, forgetting that he had his sword in his hand. The edges of his kunai-katana began to glow red. _Oops…_ Suddenly, an exact copy of his sword appeared in the air in front of him, and Kage instinctively caught it in his left hand. He looked at the blade. On one side of the blade there was the image of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

_What the hell…?_ Kage thought. He looked back at the blade in his right hand. It had the etching of the fire-breathing dragon. The other side was blank.

_Weird. It's like my sword just split itself in two. _Kage thought.

_**It did, hatchling. **_A voice sounded in his head.

Kage was at least smart enough not to reply out loud. _What? How? Who are you?_ He thought.

_**We'll have a nice, long conversation later, hatchling. If you survive. **_The voice replied.

Kage looked over to Naruto, who was staring at him with a loose, fanged jaw. "What are you looking at? Never seen a guy grow wings before?" He scowled.

Naruto shook his head. "**We are going to have a talk, after this.**"

Kage shrugged. _It seems like I'm going to have a lot of those._ He activated his Kokugan and took a ready stance with his twin blades.

"K-Kill them!" Gato ordered, obviously nervous at the kids' new appearances. The mob rushed forwards. The men rushed forwards, and Kage and Naruto quickly lost sight of each other in the rush of bodies.

* * *

Naruto eviscerated men left and right, his shorter stature gave him the perfect angle. All around him, men fell dying to the ground as their guts met the floor. Most of the men didn't have any sort of armor on, and even those who did met the same fate, the protective leather or metal sheared through by the youkai enhanced claws.

Naruto laughed and licked him lips, tasting the warm, delicious blood. It tasted salty, with a hint of copper. He took pleasure in the thugs faces as he ripped through them; his orange jacket had long been stained red.

"Hey, nii-san, I bet I can get more than you!" He called out. Naruto winced as someone stabbed him in the back with a knife. He spun and cut through the man's trachea, and the poor guy slumped to the ground, his head handing on by a thin thread of flesh and bone. As he spun, the knife was ripped out of Naruto's back. The blonde jinchuriki growled in pain at the wound, but it healed nearly instantly.

For a moment, Naruto was worried for his brother. Kage did not have a healing factor, like Naruto did. But then Naruto head a voice.

"You wish! I'm already at 82!" Kage called out.

Naruto frowned as he ducked under an axe swing and hamstrung its wielder.

"What? I'm already at 103!" Naruto shouted truthfully. He smiled as he heard his brother curse.

The blonde boy fought on.

_104…_

_105…_

* * *

Kage sneered at the men around him. They looked at him with fearful eyes, staring at his enhanced own. Still, they attacked him with fervor, only to die at the end of one of his four blades.

_This is too easy_. Kage thought. And really, it was. These common criminals were slower than an Academy student, and with Kage's Kokugan active he could easily keep track of their movements and react accordingly. He dealt death in any and all directions. Enemies in front of him would be slashed to ribbons by his swords and enemies behind him and off to the side were quickly impaled. By flicking out a wing, Kage could quickly stab an enemy as far as ten feet away and retract it in an instant. Kage winced as someone slashed at his wing with a knife, but the blade failed to cut through the scales. Kage twisted and decapitated the shocked cutpurse, and called out:

"274!" Kage yelled and waited for his brother's reply. "How about Gatou's worth 100?"

"Sounds good! 312!" He heard Naruto scream. Kage frowed. Well, not everyone could just rush in and go berserk. Kage knew that if he was wounded, he wouldn't be able heal at the advanced rate that Naruto enjoyed. A single lucky wound, if serious enough, would kill him. Kage couldn't just wade into combat; that was like testing the depth of water with your head instead of your toe. As a result, he killed his enemies at a slower pace than Naruto.

_Pffft. Some people get all the lucky breaks._ Kage's left wing shot out and impaled a bearded, brown haired man through the eye. The bone-blade was just long enough to puncture through the back of his skull and poke out the back of his head. With a wet squelch, Kage pulled the wing back in before anyone could attack it. _And some people just die._

_275…_

_276, 277…_

_Well, at least this crowd is starting to thin._

_278…_

* * *

Hinata popped a soldier pill into her mouth, ignoring the bitter taste. She stood over her sensei, attacking any of Gatou's men that weren't involved in the melee with Naruto and Kage. She struck at vital organs, steeling herself against the death she knew she was causing. Left and right, men fell around her clutching at their organs. Without help, they would die. The men had no chance against the Hyuga heiress. They might be strong, but they were no match Hinata's ninja speed. All it took was a slight brush from two of her fingers, and their death was assured.

The girl narrowed her lavender eyes when she heard her brothers calling out numbers like it was some sort of game. Hinata realized it was their way of desensitizing themselves from death; it gave them a cold, statistical outlook and allowed them to continue.

_I guess I'll do that as well. 27…_

_28…_

Suddenly, Hinata tripped over a corpse. She rolled onto her back and saw a man raising a rusted sword above his head, ready to strike down.

The sword may have been in poor condition, but it didn't matter. Hinata knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

* * *

Naruto plunged his clawed hand through a man's chest. It was rather sad, really. Naruto could see the shock in his victim's face. He couldn't have been more than 16.

Naruto dropped the corpse and looked around for more foes. There were none. He looked over, and 30 feet away Kage cut a man in half at the waist.

Kage looked around, and seeing that there were no more enemies he relaxed. His wings, blood red for more than one reason, began to shrivel up. They sunk into his back, merging with his skin, and disappeared. The blade in his left hand also disappeared, and Kage fell to the ground, severely weakened even though he didn't even have a scratch. Naruto ran over to his brother and turned him face up.

"Well, that was fun." Kage rasped, his voice rough. "I got 426. You?"

Naruto was glad that his brother seemed to be unharmed, but he wasn't sure with all the blood he was covered in. "525. Kicked your ass all over this bridge."

Kage's eyes widened. "Behind you!" He croaked.

Naruto had no time to react as a blade was pushed though his chest, coming out of the upper right portion of his torso. His body twitched as he slumped to the ground.

Gatou removed the blade, coming out from the end of his cane, from the blonde boy. The shipping magnate stepped on Kage's blade when he saw him reaching for it. He shook a finger at Kage. "Can't have that, can we? You've caused me a great deal of trouble, brat." Gatou said furiously.

Gatou screamed and lost his balance when he felt claws sink into his ankle, right down to the bone. "**My heart** is on **my** left side, dumb**ass**." Naruto growled, his demonic cloak fading away.

Kage whipped his sword out from under Gatou's feet and plunged it into his chest. Unlike Gatou, he didn't miss the heart. Kage passed out, tired from the fight and his strange transformation. Naruto soon joined his brother in unconsciousness, needing rest as his body healed itself.

* * *

Hinata waited for the sword to fall and end her life.

It never did. A crossbow bolt plunged into the man's right eye, penetrating all the way through his brain. The man fell backwards, dead.

Hinata rolled over and got to her feet to see a stunned Inari, an empty crossbow in his hands. Behind him was almost the entire population of the Land of Waves, each ready to fight to the death to protect their beloved home. They were armed with kitchen knives, construction tools, and fishing nets, but they were serious.

"Holy shit…" One of the men murmured as he saw the bridge covered in corpses. "I knew there would be fighting, but this… is something else."

Hinata scrambled over to Inari and hugged him. She knew what the first kill felt like. "Thank you, Inari-kun. You saved my life."

The boy gave her a small smile, but couldn't seem to find words.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Tazuna, who was holding a handax, commented. "The day we get the courage to defend ourselves is the day we no longer need to."

"No, grampa." Inari suddenly spoke up. "We will always need to be ready to defend ourselves. We can never let our home ever sink this low again."

The crowd nodded at the child's wise words. Suddenly, Hinata turned around. "Naruto-nii-san! Kake-kun!" She ran over to the bridge, and shouted over her shoulder. "Please get Kakashi-sensei back to the village, he's just exhausted."

The crowd slowly began to disperse, going back to their homes now that they knew their village was safe. About a tenth of the crowd stayed on the bridge to see the massacre and to check over the bodies. Hinata just cared about finding Naruto and Kage.

"Byakugan!" Hinata used the last of her chakra to flicker on her Byakugan; it failed a few seconds later. However, she saw what she needed to saw. She ran over to the side.

Tazuna and his friend, Giichi, helped Hinata lift other bodies to the side, eventually revealing two blood covered boys. Both were unconscious. Giichi's eyes widened. "These two boys slaughtered all these men? These two can't just be regular kids."

Hinata shook her head, remembering Naruto and Kage's previous appearances. _You're closer to the truth than you realize._ "No. They're ninja."

At the sound of Hinata's voice, Kage mumbled. "Heh, I beat Naruto… I got more…526." He fell back into unconsciousness.

Tazuna nodded his head in solemn respect.

"From now on, Team 7 will always be known to the people of the Land of Waves as Kakashi of the Red Eye, Naruto of the Red Bridge, Kage of the Red Wave, and Hinata of the Red Road." Tazuna declared solemnly. "You will always be heroes to us. Come on, let's get these two back to the village and check them over for injuries."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, just so you get it Kakashi is named after his Sharingan eye, Naruto is named because he spilled so much blood that the bridge appeared red, the blood of Kage's victims spilled over the edge of the bridge and turned the water red, and Hinata killed hers on the road in front of the bridge.**

**Here's an Omake!**

Omake- **Please remember, Omake are separate from the plot, they have no effect on the storyline. For future events, pretend like the Omake never happened.**

"Nee-chan, can we go into town?" Naruto whined. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Fine." Hinata said, not really paying attention.

"Don't even ask my opinion." Kage grumbled.

The three friends walked into town, and once again, Kage and Naruto were arguing. Hinata rolled her eyes. Of all things, they were arguing who was sexier.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said. "They only reason why the girls back in Konoha liked you was because you were dark and mysterious. Whereas I, on the other hand, am the pure essence of male attraction."

Kage scoffed. "Please, don't make me laugh. I bet I haven't lost my touch, I can still get any girl I wanted."

"Prove it."

Kage loosened his hair and adopted a cocky swagger. He walked up to a pretty blonde girl and activated his Bishonen mode. He pulled out a red rose from his vest and drew his sword, hiding the sheath.

Kage offered the rose to her. "Excuse me, miss, but I saw this rose and I plucked it to give it to the first beautiful woman I saw." Speechless, the girl accepted the flower. "Incidentally, I seem to have lost my katana sheath."

Kage gestured to his hip area. "Would you happen to have something I could sheath my sword in?" The dark-brown eyed boy looked at the girl suggestively, leaning his hips forward enough so that she got his meaning but not enough that she felt uncomfortable.

A trickle of blood seeped from the poor girl's nose, and she sank to the floor, unconscious. Kage caught her and set her in a nearby chair, then walked back to his friends.

"Just the right mixture of romance and danger." Kage declared. "Beat that." He dared his brother.

Naruto smirked. "No problem. Hinata-chan, can you please pretend to hit me?"

Hinata nodded and slammed her leg into Naruto's crotch. He crumpled to the ground. Kage just kept walking, and Hinata ran to catch up with him.

Naruto groaned, and a pretty blonde girl with green eyes ran to him. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" She said, shaking Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto moaned and opened his eyes. "I see an angel, so I must be in heaven." He said, and pulled the girl into a mind-numbing kiss. When they finally broke apart, Naruto grinned. "You wouldn't happen to be a virgin, also, would you?" The girl had a nosebleed and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She passed out, too.

Naruto grinned and got up, limping over to Kage and Hinata, who were watching. "Tada! That's the 'playing the unfortunate guy' act. But really, Hinata-chan, did you have kick me in the crotch?"

Hinata glared at him. "Yes. And for future reference, this is how you do it."

Hinata activated her Bishojo mode, taking off her jacket to reveal a black, form fitting t-shirt. Every male in eyesight stared at her well-developed figure before having rocket-jet nosebleeds and passing out.

The dark-blue haired girl shrugged at everyone's reactions before putting her jacket back on. "That's the 'eye-candy' routine, and I still kept my shirt on. See?" She told Naruto and Kage, but they were out cold on the ground, blood coming from their noses also.

Flames danced in Hinata's lavender eyes as she prepared to Juken strike Naruto and Kage in a place that would render them sterile.

* * *

High-pitched screams were heard throughout the Land of Waves.

* * *

**A/N: Fin.**

**We all know what Naruto holds, but who or what was the odd voice that spoke to Kage? Find out next chapter, and in the meantime, review!**

**Remember, all the thugs on the bridge had absolutely no weapons training. They were just regular people with weapons, so its not really surprising that genin could defeat them.**

**Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! I mean, hell, you've obviously spent some time reading it. Can't you spend 30 seconds to review it?**

**Or is that too 'troublesome' for you?**

**Shikamaru: I resent that.**

**Jaytang: Shut up. No one cares what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8: Finally Back Home

**(A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**1/14/2010**

Chapter 8: Finally Back Home

_Third day after the battle, Tazuna's house…_

**(Remember, it is now sometime in November.)**

Hinata sighed as she took the thermometer from Kage's mouth. She checked it. It still read 150 F. Kage had been unconscious with an unbelievable fever ever since the fight. Naruto and Kakashi had recovered after the first day (but Kakashi still needed healing for his knee). Since then, Naruto had fessed up his biggest secret.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Do you know what happened almost 13 years ago, on October 10?" Naruto asked, looking for a point to start at.

Hinata nodded. Everyone knew about that. "The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, killed the Kyuubi no Kitsune at the cost of his own life, making him a hero to the village. His legacy has always been honored and treasured."

Naruto chuckled sadly. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid."

He saw Hinata's confused look and explained. "The power of a Biju is beyond human comprehension. They are immortal. Comparing their strength to a human's is like comparing the Hokage's strength to an ant. There is no possible way a human could kill a Biju, even the Ichibi **(One-Tail)**. What would you do with a weapon that is so incredibly dangerous it could kill millions in an instant, if you can't destroy it?"

Hinata shrugged, slightly put off by Naruto's sudden apparent change in subject. "Ano, I guess I would l-lock it away so it couldn't h-hurt anyone. Maybe I would give it to someone who could b-be trusted with it."

Naruto nodded. "The Yondaime was considered to be a master in seals." He lifted up his shirt and channeled the faintest amount of chakra into his stomach. A seal appeared that had the appearance of a circle with eight lines coming out from it. In the middle there was a black swirl around his belly button.

Hinata gasped in understanding. "The F-Fourth Hokage sealed the K-Kyuubi in you?"

Naruto checked Hinata's eyes. He wasn't sure, but he thought they contained more shock than fear.

"O-Okay." Hinata stammered. "W-What's the o-o-ther part I was w-wrong about.

"Incidentally, a Biju of such power can only be sealed in an infant less than 48 hours old, or else the person's chakra coils will explode. Only an infant's chakra coils have the elasticity to adapt to a demon's power. I happened to be born on the exact day, but that wasn't the only reason why the Fourth chose me. Is blonde a common hair color in Konoha?" Naruto asked randomly.

Hinata frowned. "No…only the Yamanaka's have blonde hair. Oh, and the …" Hinata's face paled even further. "Fourth…Hokage."

Naruto smiled sadly. "Yes, Hinata. I'm not some random Yamanaka bastard; my full name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. My father's dying wish was that I be seen as a hero for containing the Kyuubi. You can see how that worked out, but I don't really blame anyone for it. If anything, it's the Sandaime's fault for trying to keep it a secret, because the fact that I have the Kyuubi leaked out anyways."

Hinata shakily stood up. "Y-You've given m-me a lot to t-t-think about, N-Naruto." She left the room.

Naruto shook his head sadly. _I hope she understands._

_Unknown area…_

Kage found himself in a large library. "Where am I?" The shelves towered above him, and the isle seemed to go down forever. Kage walked to one of the bookcases and pulled out a book at random. He read the title: _Theory of Tertiary Sealing Techniques_.

Kage frowned. "Wait a second… I made up all of these theories; I never wrote a book about it." He thumbed through the book. It contained all of the postulations he had ever made on the subject. "Impossible…I would have heard about it if someone else published a book like this."

Kage set the book back in its place and walked on. After half a minute of walking, he picked out another book at random. _Memories_, it said on the spine. Kage flipped to a random page.

_I looked up at the men, and they gasped when they saw me. Hesitation is weakness. I took advantage of their surprise, and cut through the men swiftly._

_I cut two throats. None of them moved; why? They were moving so slowly; did they want to die? I didn't care; mercy was a word whose meaning I did not know. I slashed the blade through another's middle; his guts spilling out in a spray of blood. Looking for the next one, I felt an odd emotion when I saw he looked like he might put up a fight. Hapiness? Satisfaction? I still didn't care; the only thing I wanted was more blood. I feinted at the man's face with my kunai, and kicked him in the jewels instead. Heh, I bet that hurt. His pain ended as I slid the knife into his heart. I felt my heart racing, adrenaline rushing through me. I looked at the fifth, disappointed when I saw he was frozen with fear. I reached towards him, and when he didn't react I slit his throat._

_I turned to face the last man. He would pay for what he did. Sudden death was too good for him; I wanted him to remember today forever and always._

"_Turn around…" I said softly._

Kage shut the book shakily and reshelved it. "What is this!? Is this some kind of joke!"

"**No, hatchling, this is your mindscape.**" A voice said behind him. Kage whipped around, his right hand going to his hip, but his sword was not there.

In front of Kage was a dragon; the bookshelves seemed to have melted away to the sides. It grinned, showing long white fangs, a sharp contrast to its blood-red scales. Its wingspan was over 100 feet, and its body was huge. It stretched; it's long, muscular, scaled body rippling with power. The dragon yawned, flame coming out of its moth. It looked rather bored.

Kage tensed immediately relaxed. Why? After finding out about the Kyuubi, Kage made Naruto tell him exactly how they had met. This situation was almost exactly the same. Well, it gave Kage one answer, but infinitely more questions. Who had sealed him in Kage? Why didn't Kage have a physical seal on his body? What being was this?

"I see." Kage said calmly. "This is my mind, and as such my knowledge and memories are stored here. But who are you and what are you doing here?"

The dragon chortled. **"Well, before I answer your question I must first correct your previous statement. Not only are all your memories and knowledge stored here, but every single thing and every single though you have ever experienced is present here. For example, an unimportant memory like what you ate for lunch 163 days ago may be stored near the top of one of the memory shelves; symbolizing the difficultly of remembering such information. Crucial or often used knowledge, like kenjutsu, may be at the very front of your mindscape, so close that you essentially do not even need to think in order to use it. But enough of that. I am the Ryu Oni (Dragon Demon), also known as the Creator of Fire, the Scaled Shinigami, and the Scourge of the Wicked**.** And I am here… because I chose to be."**

Kage flinched. He had expected the dragon to say: Because I am sealed in you. "What do you mean, you chose to be. And 'Scourge of the Wicked'? Aren't you a demon?"

The dragon growled; a low rumbling sound that made the scales on his throat rattle. **"Demon is a term you humans use for the things you do not understand. There are beings with great power, such as myself. We are not good or evil as a group, each individual chooses his or her own actions. I consider myself a very moral 'demon'. I've looked through some of your memories. You, too, feel the need to kill and crush evil when you see it."**

Kage nodded slowly.

"**Do not be afraid to act on that impulse. To stand by and watch evil being done is the same as committing the crime yourself. Do not feel shame for doing what you must. Mercy to the wicked is treason to the innocent. Anyways, I suppose you could call me a 'good' demon. Well, Kami and I made a bet about how long it would take for the Ninja world to get into another World War after the Second. Long story short, Kami's guess was far closer than mine. As payment for losing the bet, I agreed to merge with a human for the duration of said human's lifespan. I chose a human at random, and you just happened to win the lottery, hatching."**

Kage frowned. He had absolutely no idea why, but for some reason he thought Ryu Oni was lying. Kage brushed it off for now.

"But wait." Kage said. "Why did you say merge? Don't you mean sealed in?"

The Ryo Oni's left wing jerked out in an annoyed fashion. Kage flinched, knowing how deadly a wing could be. He wondered what would happen if he died in his own mindscape. **"No, stupid hatchling, I know what I said and I meant it. Unlike your friend, I am not sealed in you. Instead, we are merged together as one being. Only in your mindscape is a fragment of my original self present. You are not a full human; you are a hanyou, a half demon. For example, when the fox-boy channeled his youkai, he merely drew it around himself like a coat. When you used youkai, you're body changed to its hanyou state. Now that you have accessed your hanyou form, your body has begun to change in order to accommodate its new power, thus the reason you have been unconscious since the battle."**

Kage's eyes widened. "How long have I been out?"

The dragon shrugged. **"Almost three days. The process is almost complete, though. When you wake up, you'll notice that you are far faster than before. It's interesting, the muscle tissue has adapted to both my power and your kekkei genkai. As it is your physical body that has been changed, you will always have your extra speed, but when you activate your…Kokugan, as you call it… your swiftness will be close to unrivaled. Also, you will be able to taste scents in the air, like a snake, although you don't have to do that **_**disgusting**_** tongue-flick gesture. Your strength has been increased slightly, as well, but very little compared to your speed. Your skin has also been altered; it will be practically impossible for you to suffer from heat damage, so you will not be burned. You can channel youkai without any harmful effects, now, although experienced ninja will notice that it is not regular chakra."**

"**Speaking of which, I wish to talk to you about your blade. Somehow, when your hanyou blood mixed with the jinchuriki blood of the fox-boy, it altered the basic structure of what used to be a regular kunai. In a way I have never heard of before, the very composition of the knife was changed, lengthening it into a perfect crystalline structure, making it unbreakable. However, this has made it completely nonconductive to regular chakra other than your own. But if you channel youkai into it, something very interesting happens, as you found out."**

Kage nodded, listening intently.

"**The blade will form a mirror image of itself with the exact same properties. Once you stop channeling youkai into the original blade, the copy will disappear. I believe, although I am not sure, that you can channel youkai into only your hands, preventing the wings from forming on your back. Similarly, concentrating demon chakra into only your back will result in the formation of wings. Good job using them, by the way."** The dragon complimented. **"Always remember to keep the wings hinged and tucked in except for the split second when you attack. That way, no one can damage the membrane of the wing, as the bone frame will block any slashing attacks. Even if someone stabs you, the membrane can heal small holes."**

Kage perked up. "Can I fly?"

The dragon frowned, a frightful sight with his massive teeth. **"No the rest of your body is not made for flying. Actually… perhaps you could. The wingspan of your wings is a larger-than-normal ratio to your body, so…"**

* * *

Hinata replaced the wet towel on Kage's head with a fresh one. Suddenly, Kage's eyes shot open, as if waking up from a dream, startling Hinata.

"Water…" Kage rasped. Hinata nodded and began to pour a glass of water from a large jug, but Kage motioned for her to just give him the jug. Hinata did so, and Kage tipped the jug and drank the entire two gallons, when he finished he looked at Hinata.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan." Kage said softly, his voice still rough. "I guess you'll want an explanation now, right?"

Hinata opened her mouth to protest, and then stopped herself. She had just accepted the fact that one of her best friends had the most powerful Biju in existence sealed in his gut, it's not like it could get any worse, right?

"Ano." Hinata said. "I d-definitely would."

Kage laid back. "Okay. Go get Naruto; he needs to hear this, too."

* * *

When both of his teammates were in the room, Kage sat back up. "First of all, did you tell Kakashi what happened after he passed out?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Not exactly, nii-san. He felt a 'tainted presence' as he called it, so I admitted to using the Kyuubi's chakra. Kakashi-sensei was okay with it, surprisingly. All we told him was that I fought using the Kyuubi's chakra, you fought using your blade, and Hinata defended Kakashi-sensei and killed the men who tried to get to the village."

Hinata scowled at the blonde boy, more out of annoyance than anything else. "And the only reason I agreed to l-lie to sensei was because Naruto said he would tell me about his 'resident'." Seeing Kage's look, Hinata added, "I'm o-okay with it."

Kage nodded. He began to form handseals; his hands shaking and barely able to do so. At the end, he slapped his hands together. "Fuinjutsu: Kachou Naisho (**Sealing Technique: Audible Privacy**)."

Naruto and Hinata could feel a wave of chakra wash over them, and Kage slumped. Hinata immediately got up to help him, but he waved her away. "Kage-kun, should y-you be using chakra?"

Kage smirked. "Worried about me, hime?" He taunted.

"You wish, kimi." Hinata shot back. Naruto looked back and forth between the two, confused.

Kage nodded off-handedly. "It's fine. I'm just a little weak right now; once I get something to eat I'll feel much better. Now then, no one outside this room can hear what I'm going to say. I'll tell you what happened with me. I actually didn't know until just a little while ago…"

* * *

Kage finished explaining his entire situation. "…and so that's what went on at the bridge."

He looked at Naruto and Hinata's frightened faces, and understood what Naruto felt. Suddenly, Hinata hugged him. Kage cautiously wrapped his arms around her. Pulling away from him, Hinata poked him in the side, thankfully not adding any chakra to the blow.

"You're still my friend, Kage-kun, even if you aren't completely human." Hinata said.

Naruto shrugged. "You're still my annoying older brother, nii-san." He grinned. "But I guess we both know that I'm stronger, huh?" _Huh? How come Kage got a hug and I didn't? And what's with the nicknames…or are they pet names? Am I missing something between them? Or maybe…_

Kage got out of bed and tapped Naruto between the eyes. "No, I said that I have the equivalent of seven and a half tails of power in Biju equivalent. You can't access all nine tails of Kyuubi's power without releasing him and dying." He said smartly. "Then again, I can't access all of it, but then, you only channeled what, one tail of Kyuubi? I'm sure that we'll both be able to handle more youkai as we age."

Naruto frowned back. "Oh yeah? Well at least Kyuubi gives me the ability to—"

"Eat insane amounts of ramen?" Kage completed, raising an eyebrow. Hinata giggled at Naruto's annoyed face.

"No! Heal instantly! What do you have?" Naruto challenged.

"Wings. They itch like hell, though." Kage replied. "I don't need to have a healing factor; I didn't get a scratch, unlike you, noob."

Hinata sighed. She knew that if she let those two continue, they would argue for hours. The dark-blue haired girl quickly interrupted them. "Well, you both h-have the power of being extremely a-a-annoying. How about we get something to eat?"

Both boys readily agreed, previous arguments completely forgotten.

* * *

_Next day…_

Tazuna, the newly elected mayor of the Land of Waves, bowed to Team 7. "We will always remember you. If you ever need any help, we will do everything in our power to aid you."

Kakashi bowed back, a difficult act given that he was still using crutches. "Thank you, Tazuna-san. May your village be happy and prosper."

"May Konoha stand tall, and may you have a swift, safe trip back to your village." Tazuna replied.

Walking away, Naruto whined, "Aw, man, I'm actually kind of sad to leave there. That place was fun." _And the people treat me like a hero, instead of a demon._

"You can't become Hokage if you don't live in Konoha." Kage said in a monotone. "Although I must admit, the cuisine there was excellent." He closed his dark brown eyes and shivered in rapture, causing the others to look at him oddly. "The sushi was amazing _and_ fresh. I mean seriously, the fish was probably alive less than an hour before we were served." Kage explained.

Hinata was silent, thinking about Inari, Tsunami, Kaiza, and Tazuna. They had such a happy family, together. Each cared about each other, no one was left out. _Why can't I have that?_ Hinata wondered. She looked over to Naruto and Kage. Naruto had just made a derogatory comment doubting the greatness of raw fish and Kage had him in a headlock. Hinata's face grew a small smile. _I guess I already do. Naruto and Kage…they annoy the hell out of each other, yet they stand willing to protect the other always…_

Kage noticed that Hinata was lagging behind a little bit. He waved to her to hurry up, then went back to strangling Naruto, who had almost escaped.

Hinata smiled and walked faster to catch up to her team. _…And me._ _It's good to know… that I am wanted. Good to know… that I have a family._

* * *

_Hokage's office…_

"And then, there were a bunch of bad guys, and then, we were like… BAM!" Naruto screamed, and Kakashi bopped him on the head to calm him down.

The Hokage nodded in disbelief. "Um… yes… um, you three go get your payment for the mission from my secretary. Oh, and by the way, this year's graduating genin teams, the Rookie 10, are having a get together tomorrow at Ichiraku's. Kakashi, I need to talk to you."

The three genin left the room. The Hokage gave Kakashi a hard stare. "Kakashi, **put the book down.**" He ordered, lacing a bit of KI into his voice.

Kakashi sighed and put the book away in his pocket. "'Kay. So what's up?"

Sarutobi shook a finger at him. "Don't 'what's up' me, Kakashi. Is it true?"

Kakashi nodded, somehow appearing both serious and bored at the same time. "Yep, although Naruto may be prone to over-exaggeration, Kage and Hinata aren't. According to the three of them, Naruto killed 525 hostiles, Hinata killed 28 hostiles, and Kage killed 427, plus a boy of unknown origin who had the Hyoton blood limit. I killed Zabuza." Kakashi added as an afterthought.

"SHIT!" The Hokage slammed his hands on his desk. He turned around to wrestle control over his emotions. "This kind of stuff _is not_ supposed to happen!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, to be honest, the client had a good reason, as Naruto explained."

Sarutobi calmed down a little bit more. "Well, at least there won't be any negative kickback from this. Kage and Naruto don't really have anyone who would care about them being in danger, except maybe for Iruka, and he doesn't have to know. Frankly, I think Hiashi would welcome the death of one of his daughters just so that he didn't have to decide who was less weak." Sarutobi's tone was bitterly sardonic.

"Anyways… Naruto used his resident, didn't he? And how was it that Kage kept up with him? I understand that Hinata still had a lot of chakra after the first fight, but an outsider executing a Hyuga signature move?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Naruto said that he and the Kyuubi have… come to an agreement. Besides, I trust Minato-sensei's sealing skills; there is no way the Kyuubi could escape, unless Naruto tries to draw on all of its power at once. As for Kage…" Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. "You know that one day Naruto was attacked…"

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "And you were late in defending him, so an eleven-year-old boy had to, instead."

Kakashi flinched. "Um, yeah. On that day, I discovered that Kage might have a visual doujutsu. Other than the Byakugan or Sharingan." Sarutobi's eyebrows shot through the root. Eye-based kekkei genkai were the most valued, they were often the most powerful.

"And no one decided to tell me this, why?" Hiruzen's voice dropped dangerously low.

Kakashi shrugged. He knew Sarutobi wouldn't do anything… lethal to him, but he decided to explain anyways. "Because no one can prove it. He's never used it in front of anyone, before, although I believe that his teammates know about it. Kage denies it, though. On the night before the attack, Kage tacitly acknowledged that he _does_ have a kekkei genkai, but in a way that he can deny it completely. The only way we'll know for sure is to have a Yamanaka go through his mind. Either that, or to wait for him to accidentally or purposely tell everyone about it."

Sarutobi nodded sagely. "I see. I'd hate to have such a promising shinobi mind-reamed; it usually scars them for life. Well, just let slip that anyone with a new kekkei genkai has the right to start a clan, and that a person who starts a clan has the right to activate the Konoha Clan Restoration Act, allowing him to legally take multiple wives. He's about at that age to be interested, don't you think?"

Kakashi nodded. "Perhaps."

* * *

Kage stopped dead in his tracks as he turned the corner, seeing his and Naruto's entire apartment complex torn down and a single, large house in its place. Naruto smiled at his brother's reaction and continued talking to Hinata about the subtle differences between soba noodles and regular noodles.

Shaking himself, Kage ran to catch up with his friends and shouted in Naruto's ear, "HELLOOOO? NARUTO, WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT OUR HOUSE IS GONE!!!"

Naruto used his pinky to clean out his ear. Hinata giggled. "You know, Kage-kun, I believe that's the first t-time I've ever heard you yell."

Naruto shrugged. "And no, nii-san. Our _old_ house is gone."

Kage's face shut down into its blank look as his mind digested what the blonde had just said. "You… bought a new house." Naruto nodded causally but failed to pull it off as his foxy grin appeared, and he dangled a key from his finger.

Kage quickly snatched the key and dashed to the house, moving so fast his afterimage wasn't even halfway to the house by the time the real Kage was inside. Naruto and Hinata blinked at his speed. Naruto motioned for Hinata to follow them and they both went inside.

When they finally found Kage, he was in the dojo. He held up a wooden sword, blunted like a truncheon and shorter as well. It was a bokken, a practice sword used in kenjutsu kata.

"Look at this, nii-san! This is fired oak! Incredibly light, yet the strongest wood around." Kage dashed back to the weapons cabinet and put the sword back, pulling out weighted wooden kunai. He flipped it in the air and caught it; and began to spin in, weaving the prop between his fingers. In a blink, Kage tossed it at Hinata, who caught it by instinct. Hinata was just about to reprimand him for that, but Kage had tackled Naruto and was giving him a noogie.

"You little punk! How come you didn't tell me you were getting me a house for my birthday, huh?"

Naruto managed to free himself. "Hmph! You wish, this is my birthday present to myself! You just happen to live here."

Kage and Hinata laughed at his callous denial, and Kage let Naruto stand back up. Kage socked him in the upper arm. "Best birthday present ever."

Kage looked at Hinata, wondering why she looked confused. He asked her why.

Hinata's smile dropped ever so slightly, but Naruto and Kage still noticed it. Hinata explained that she had never received any birthday presents; the Hyuga clan only celebrated the day of a person's birth and their 18th birthday. All other years were irrelevant.

"You've never had a birthday present?" Kage and Naruto asked in unison, equally astounded.

Hinata blushed under their gazes, unused to such focus upon herself. "Ano, I should be getting home now. My father will be wor…waiting for me."

Kage felt a rush of hatred at the mention of her father, but did not let it show. He also suppressed a wince as he remembered some of the things he had said to Hiashi before they left. Kage put his hands together and made a shadow clone. The clone henged into a thin, elastic wristband. No wider than a thick shoelace, it was all black with red dragons going through the middle. There were multiple dragons, and it was impossible to tell when one dragon ended and another began.

Kage offered the wristband to Hinata. "Here. It's not nearly enough to make up for twelve years of no presents, but it's a start."

"Hey, great idea Kage!" Naruto did the same, creating a white wristband with a single orange fox pattern. Kage ground his face into his palm. At least Naruto had the sense to only give the fox one tail.

"Naruto, you can't just copy another person's present………………………you know what? Forget it." Kage said. The wristband poofed into smoke, and Kage made another Kage Bushin. This time, it henged into a golden ring with a large ruby. Etched in the middle of a ruby was a dragon, and when the light hit the ruby just right it looked like the dragon was flapping its wings.

Kage handed his new gift to Hinata, and she accepted it along with Naruto's. "It's not real, the gold or the jewel." Kage reminded her.

Hinata smiled back at him brilliantly. "I don't care. I'll treasure it as if it was." She slid the fox-wristband onto her left wrist and the dragon-ring onto her right hand, on her middle finger. _It feels so right. What is this warm feeling?_

Naruto and Kage escorted the Hyuga heiress to the door. After saying goodbye, Naruto left to go make some instant ramen, leaving Kage and Hinata at the door.

Kage looked into his teammate's pupiless lavender eyes, feeling a strange emotion. He quashed it. With a start, he realized that when she went home, Hiashi might even go as far as to put the Caged Bird Seal on her. "Hinata-chan, remember that if you ever need a place to stay, or someone to talk to, you can always come here." Kage said. If that ever happened, Kage swore that he would help her and remove the seal.

Hinata nodded, confused but happy at his offer. "Thank you, Kage-kun."

Kage watched the blue back of Hinata's head as she walked away. If anyone was looking, they would have said his face softened, but no one was. Kage had an ulterior motive for Hinata's gift. If anything bad ever happened, the shadow clone would disperse and let him know about it. _Well, damn._ He really should tell Naruto and Hinata about that, sometime. The black haired boy shrugged and went back inside.

* * *

Hiashi paced back and forth. His usually ordered long hair was tangled, only slightly bushy by normal standards but a complete mess by Hyuga standards. The Hyuga clan head had been doing some serious thinking, and had concluded that he had treated Hinata rather poorly. However, Hiashi managed to assuage his conscience with the fact that Hinata would be back in a week or two, and then he could apologize.

But no, fate was rarely kind. After the first month, Hiashi started to worry about his daughter for the first time, and his guilt began to eat away at him. After the second, people started to notice a change in him; Hiashi was testier and was always looking from side to side. Now, it was almost the end of November, and Hinata still wasn't back. Hiashi was worried. Had Hinata died before he had a chance to set things right? Had he failed Hitami, his late beloved wife?

A Branch Hyuga burst into his study, and Hiashi turned to him, glaring. He had given orders to _not_ be disturbed. He put his hands into the seal that would activate the Caged Bird Seal, but refrained from channeling chakra through his hands and putting the Branch Hyuga in mind-shattering pain. Usually, Hiashi never did this, in honor of his late twin brother, Hizashi, but he was grumpy.

Seeing this, the Branch member quickly said. "Hyuga-sama, your daughter has returned home." He prayed that the news would calm Hiashi. It did.

Hiashi's face immediately lit up. "Send her in." The Branch Hyuga nodded and left, glad to leave the room on his own two feet.

* * *

"Hinata-sama—" A Hyuga Branch member called out to Hinata, and she turned around.

"Just Hinata is fine…" Hinata trailed off, as she didn't know his name.

"Homishi. You father would like to speak to you, Hinata-sa…Hinata." Homishi smiled. Of all the Main Branch Hyuga, Hinata was the kindest to the Branch Family. Ironic, the one person the Main Branch Hyuga would want to show respect to didn't demand it.

"Thank you, Homishi. I'll go to his study in a minute."

* * *

Hiashi froze as Hinata walked into his office. His trained eyes told him that she was different, that she had been changed. Hinata was carrying herself differently.

"You asked for m-me, father?" Hinata said, not as timidly as before, with a strange inflection on the word 'father'.

Hiashi paused with his mouth open. What could he say? He actually hadn't really thought about it.

Hiashi got down on his hands and knees and bowed to Hinata. "My daughter, I have wronged you."

Hinata smiled, even though Hiashi could not see it. Her entire life, she had wanted her father to acknowledge her, but it wasn't the fulfilling feeling she had thought it would be. Still, she hugged her father, and helped him stand up. With a start, Hinata realized her father was crying.

"I don't have to right to call myself a father." Hiashi said sadly.

_No, you don't_. The petty part of Hinata's mind said, but she ignored it. "It's okay daddy. I forgive you." Hinata said softly. A part of her knew that she could never accept Hiashi. Too little, too late, as the saying went, but that didn't mean he couldn't be in her life. They could never be a true family again, but they could be friends.

It was just that Hinata had a new family.

* * *

**BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

**BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!**

**BEEEEE-**

Before the alarm clock could complete its third beep, Kage shot up and slashed through the offensive object with his sword. The boy shook his head as he wiped the remnants of sleep from his dark-brown eyes. Kage looked at the piece of broken machinery on the desk next to his bed. _Ooops._ He groaned as he prepared for a long day.

* * *

"Ohayo, nee-chan!" Naruto said upon seeing Hinata at the ramen bar.

"Ohayo, Naruto-nii-san." Hinata replied, looking around for their black haired brother. "Where's K-Kage-kun?"

Naruto shrugged dismissively. "Well, we were walking here when his fangirl mob started chasing him. Apparently one of them found out that he was back, so she told all the others." Naruto shivered. "Even with his speed, there's only so long Kage can go without getting caught."

Hinata frowned at that. What was the worst a fangirl could do?

* * *

Close to two hours later, a rather interesting Henge of Naruto walked into Ichiraku Ramen Bar. It was almost perfect, but anyone who really knew Naruto could tell that this one's whiskers were at a slightly wider angle that usual. _Naruto's_ head darted nervously around.

"Looking pretty nervous, nii-san." Naruto commented through a bowl of noodles.

Kage, under a Henge, scowled. "You would be too, if rabid fangirls were after you." He said bitterly. "Anyways, why we had to show up so early if no one else is here."

Hinata shrugged. "Ano, the Hokage probably told Kakashi to come here three hours before it started, because Kakashi is always at least three hours late. Of course, Kakashi told us the same time he was told, so we got here early."

Kage grunted and released the Henge, returning to his natural appearance. That made sense. "Oi, Teuchi-san, a bowl of shrimp ramen."

* * *

"Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, what's up?" Naruto shouted enthusiastically as Team Ten walked into Ichiraku's.

"Man, you are so troublesome." Shikamaru said in a monotone before breaking out in a smile. "But we're doing fine, thanks for asking. Anything new with you guys lately?"

Naruto only grinned. "Yeah, but lets wait until Team Eight gets here; I don't want to repeat myself."

Kage snorted into his half finished bowl. Naruto just wanted to prolong the tension.

Finally, after twenty more minutes, Shino, Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke walked in. Kiba, because of their bet back at the academy, tried to tackle Kage, who calmly redirected the Inuzuka's motion in a deceptively smooth fashion.

"So what's up, dog boy, bugsy?" Naruto asked, prodding his noodles around his bowl; completely ignoring Sakura and Sasuke.

"Not much." Shino stated. "We completed our first C-rank mission a few weeks ago."

Naruto, Hinata, and Kage shared a look. "Really? Wow!" Naruto said in a sarcastic manner. "We haven't gotten a C-rank yet."

Hinata shook her head sadly. "I know, it's so depressing."

"I wish we could get a C-rank mission. The only thing Hokage-sama gave us is a A-rank." Kage paused to let every digest that little fact.

"What!?!"

"What!?"

"What!"

"Woof!?" (Akamaru)

"What!?"

"Yeah, it was pretty lame." Kage continued. "We had to kill a couple missing nins and all these random bandits."

"I bet your sensei did all the work." Sasuke challenged.

Naruto snorted. "Kakashi-sensei only got one. The rest of us each got—"

Speak of the ninja, a one-eyed ninja chose to arrive at that exact moment. "No revealing classified information, Naruto."

"The mission is c-classified now?" Hinata asked in shock. Usually only matters of village security were made classified. Maybe it had something to do with Naruto using the Kyuubi.

"Yep, Hokage-sama declared it so." Kakashi answered. "Anyways, is all of the Rookie 10 here? Good. Anyways, all genin here have been nominated to take the chunin exams. By performing well in the Chunin Exams, you may be elevated to chunin rank even if you don't actually win the tournament. It will be starting on January 1, almost exactly one month from now. I suggest you prepare. Team 7, let's roll. It's training time."

Naruto sighed and finished his bowl in less than half a second. Kage slurped up the last of his noodles, leaving the broth behind, and Hinata pushed away her unfinished bowl.

* * *

"Yo, sensei, so what are you going to teach us?" Kage asked in a bored manner at Training Ground 3.

"I'm going to teach you about Elemental Nature Chakra Affinities. Do you remember the first fight with Zabuza, when you copied his Water Dragon Jutsu, but nothing happened?"

Kage nodded, so Kakashi continued.

"Nothing happened because that was a Suiton jutsu, and your water chakra affinity wasn't high enough. Chakra nature is something that you're mostly born with; but you will have to work on controlling your element, or elements, before you can efficiently use elemental ninjutsu. I have here chakra-sensitive litmus paper. By channeling chakra into it, you can tell what elemental nature you have here."

Kakashi handed one piece of paper to each of his students.

"If the paper burns then your element is fire, if the paper is cut, wind. If the paper turns to dust, you have earth. If the paper crinkles, lighting, and if the paper gets wet, water. Find out what you have."

Hinata channeled chakra into the card, which immediately got soaked. "Water."

Kage already knew what elements he had, but channeled chakra into the card anyways. It split in half, and then the two pieces burnt to ashes. "Fire and wind."

Naruto channeled chakra, and the card disintegrated. "Earth."

Beneath the mask, Kakashi's jaw dropped. He handed Naruto another card. "Do that again."

Naruto did so, and Kakashi realized that the card wasn't turning into dust; it was being cut an incredibly large amount of times, so the pieces were so small it appeared to be dust. "Amazing…that's not earth, that's really, really powerful wind."

Kakashi shook his head. "All right, you each have a different training." He pointed to a large tree with tens of thousands of leaves.

"Hinata, go get a leaf from that tree. Using only your chakra, try to draw all of the water out of the leaf. If you do it right, it should leave a crumpled dark green mass in your hand with a ball of water hovering over it."

"Kage, I want you to work on your fire element. Go get a leaf and try to ignite it with only your chakra, no handseals. You'll know when you do it right." Kage nodded and left to do so.

Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Now, it is incredibly rare to find anyone with the wind element. For you to have it in such concentration is beyond extraordinary, statistically, this level of power shouldn't exist in one person. Anyways, go get a leaf, and try to cut it in half. When you can—"

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! I'm done!" Kage yelled. Kakashi turned around in disbelief: it took a person months or years to complete the first step. "Watch!"

Kage held a leaf up by the stem and channeled chakra into it. Somehow, he _twisted_ the nature of the chakra, and the leaf blazed to white ash, which blew away. "So that's it? I'm a master now?"

Kakashi's eye twitched. "Not yet. If you can do the same thing with a decent sized log, _then_ you are a master." Kage shrugged and went to go find a log.

* * *

_The next day…_

Naruto growled. He was making absolutely no progress in cutting the leaf. He looked at Kage, who was trying to burn a large twig, staring at it as if the heat of his glare would force the wood to obey him. Naruto looked at Hinata; she was able to extract around a quarter of the leaf's water, but couldn't get further than that. The blonde boy threw his leaf to the ground.

"Damn it! Nii-san, how did you do it?" Naruto shouted.

Kage spoke with a far-away tone; his concentration was elsewhere. "I don't think it would make any sense, but here goes. It feels like I'm twisting my chakra into something else, but there is no direction to twist in. To me, the fire almost feels… angry or greedy, but without the emotion in it. Hungry, that's it."

The stick began to burn in Kage's hand. "Hah, got it. SHIT!" Kage yelled suddenly, and Naruto and Hinata jumped. The fire was now down to Kage's hand, but he continued to hold onto it.

"No, no, it's not the fire; I can't be burnt. Naruto, make a shadow clone." Naruto did so and Kage also made a shadow clone. "Go off into the trees."

"What? Kage-kun, what are you doing?" Hinata asked. Kage smiled enigmatically. "You'll see."

Around a minute after the clones left the trio's line of sight, Naruto suddenly jumped up and grabbed his neck. "WHAT THE HELL? YOU CUT MY HEAD OFF!"

"No." Kage corrected. "My shadow clone cut your shadow clone's head off. Now how would we know about that?"

Naruto frowned, but Hinata gasped, understanding the significance of what had just occurred.

"We gain the experience a shadow clone has when it's dispelled." Hinata said in amazement.

"Exactly." Kage confirmed. "It works with training too, so…"

* * *

_Three days later…_

"Naruto-kun, where's Kage-kun? Did he get chased by fangirls again?" Hinata asked concernedly.

Naruto snorted as he made a thousand shadow clones. "Nah. He's just having one of his _days_." Naruto looked at Hinata's confused expression. "Huh, you don't know about it? Oh, well every now and then Kage gets really depressed and zoned out, so usually he just sits there."

Hinata frowned. That certainly wasn't exactly an indication of good mental health. "Don't you ever try to talk him out of it?" Hinata asked with care in her voice.

"Of course! Nii-san is just super snappy when he's in one of his moods. He usually gets over it pretty quickly; so it's best just to let him work it out on his own." Each of Naruto's shadow clones picked up a leaf and began to train.

Hinata sighed. "I'm a little sore from training yesterday." She lied. "I guess I'll just go to your house and talk to Kage.

The blonde boy shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

_Naruto & Kage's House…_

Kage kept his breathing even as he let his thoughts travel in any direction they wished. Sitting on the floor in his dojo, Kage sensed a familiar presence. He recognized who it was and continued to let his mind stray. _Maybe she won't bother me…_ He heard soft footsteps behind him. _Or maybe she will…_ Still, Kage didn't acknowledge Hinata's presence.

"K-Kage-kun, are you alright?" Hinata asked softly.

"Hime, I'm fine." Kage said emotionlessly. He stiffened as he felt Hinata sit down next to him. "I don't suppose Naruto warned you about trying to talk to me?"

"Yes, I'm h-here anyways. You d-don't seem fine, Kage-kun."

Kage sighed and opened his eyes. "What is fine? The state of being better than average or the feeling of acceptability itself?" He asked cryptically. "Fine is just a word. But I suppose that I am 'not fine'. I don't know—" Kage stopped as he felt Hinata's soft hand on his forehead.

"Kage-kun, you have a fever!" Hinata gasped. Kage waved his hand dismissively, not in contempt of Hinata's statement, but more in contempt of himself.

"I've been like that ever since going dragon in the Land of Waves." Kage said sourly. "Probably something do to with my…… hybrid heritage. A human body's enzymes are optimal at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. I assume that… sorry, I'm ranting."

"Ano." Hinata replied softly. "I don't m-mind."

Kage gave her a small smile in appreciation. _She's so caring._ "Thanks. Anyways, I assume that the fundamental makeup of my body is slightly different that regular people. I've been monitoring myself, and my average temperature is 100.8 degrees Farenheit. However, my body can sustain ridiculously high internal temperatures. As such, my skin can take even higher temperatures without any ill effect, such as burns or anything. I don't now how high my temperature limit is, or if I even have one. Kinda creepy, huh?" He joked sadly, a hint of remorse in his voice.

Hinata picked up on his tone. "No more c-creepy than my eyes, Kage-kun."

Kage scoffed, still staring at the wall. "Nonsense, your eyes are beautiful, Hinata-chan." He said offhandedly, making the girl next to him blush furiously. His concentration was elsewhere, so Kage probably would have hidden his true opinions better if he was focused. As it was, he didn't even register what he had even said. "Like I was going to say, I don't know… how to explain what I feel. I'm feeling something odd, lately, but I don't know how to put it into words."

Hinata leaned back a tiny bit, resting some of her weight on her hands. She fought to keep her blush under control. _Why am I being affected like this?_ "Try to e-e-explain it to me, Kage-kun."

Kage shook his head. "I…………can't. I don't know the word that describes it." Regardless, he stood up, and offered Hinata his hand. She took it, and Kage helped her up. "But I feel better now. Thank you…hime." Kage felt obligated to add the sarcastic nickname at the end.

"No problem, k-kimi." Hinata replied dryly. "Would you like to go join Naruto-kun in t-training?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

Naruto growled. He was still only able to cut the leaf halfway the time. The other times the leaf didn't cut all the way. Still, most people took years to get to this stage. Every few hours, he dispelled all the clones, giving him a massive headache but a lot of experience.

Hinata frowned, looking at her other four shadow clones. With her chakra reserves, four was the maximum she could make and still give each clone enough energy to train. Still, she was making incredible improvement. Hinata had successfully extracted all the water out of a leaf, and now she was on the second step. She was now trying to levitate a watermelon sized sphere of water, but having limited success.

Kage had finally mastered the fire element, and thought about starting to learn wind, but decided to practice his kenjutsu instead. He made around 800-900 shadow clones and had a forth wield a sword in their right hands, another forth wield swords in their left hands, a third forth merely watch, while giving their swords to the last forth, so that they each had two. They were currently sparring against each other in random combinations and pairs. Kage himself and a group of around 200 clones were working on something else.

"Alright, let's take a break!" Kage shouted, dispelling all of his shadow clones. It actually didn't give him much of a headache, as most of the shadow clones that were sparring had 'killed' each other at regular intervals. Naruto and Hinata both dispelled their shadow clones as well, but Naruto fell unconscious from the mental strain.

"Well, damn." Kage muttered. "I can't find my shirt." He had taken it off, as it was a warm summer day. But how hard could it be to find a red shirt or a black vest? "Whatever. I'll find it later. How's the training going, hime?"

"Ano, very well. You, kim—Kage-kun?" Hinata replied. She blushed at seeing Kage without a shirt on. All of his kenjutsu training had made all of his muscles rather defined for a 13-year-old boy. They were not large, but toned.

"Pretty good. I'm working on my own jutsu, here; hopefully I can combine it with my sword. I'm not sure what to call it though. Watch."

Kage walked up to a tree, around six feet in diameter, and took his sword out. A look of concentration appeared on his face and his sword began to take on a blue aura as he channeled chakra through it. With a grunt, Kage made the mental twist and the sword caught on fire, giving off a crackling sound like a thousand logs burning. Kage swung the sword, and it cut through the tree like butter, but three-quarters of the way through the blade lost its momentum and ground to a half. Hinata was impressed, but Kage "hmmed" in disappointment.

"No matter what I do, I can't cut through a tree, and sometimes it backfires and blasts me backwards. And I'm still trying to think of a name for it. So far I've narrowed it down to three: Ken no Kaen, Blazing Sword. Chikaki, One Thousand Flames. Or Ryu Shikon, Dragon Fang. I'm seriously leaning towards the last one. Maybe if I use some dragon youkai then…" Kage trailed off, his face paling. Hinata looked at him quizzically. "Never mind, _that is definitely a bad idea._"

* * *

_Flashback…_

"Hey Kage, watch this!" Naruto shouted. He pulled on some of the Nine-tailed Fox's chakra. "Kawarimi no Jutsu."

Naruto disappeared, a log appearing in his place. Kage waited for Naruto to appear somewhere else, but he didn't. _What the hell?_

After around three hours, someone knocked on the apartment door. Kage answered it, and Naruto walked in, soaking wet and bruised.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Naruto shivered. "I couldn't control it. I appeared in the women's spa, and they all beat the crap out of me." Naruto grabbed his crotch. "I don't know if I'll be giving you any nephews or nieces."

_End Flashback_

* * *

"On second though, mixing youkai with a new jutsu is most definitely _not_ a good idea." Kage said. "Are you working on anything lately?"

Hinata nodded and blushed. "Um, actually, yes."

"Sweet!" Kage nodded. "Can you show me it? Please?"

Hinata prodded her fingers together, something she hadn't done in a long time. "O-okay. Um… it's kinda like w-water walking, except um…I'll just show you. I n-need to go change first."

"Uh…ok-ay." Kage made a shadow clone and picked up Naruto, carrying him off so that Hinata could have some privacy.

Hinata sighed, using her Byakugan to make sure that Kage and Naruto were out of range of sight before stripping and putting on a two-piece swimsuit that was in her bag. She hated showing so much skin, but she couldn't find any one-pieces that were her size that fit her… natural development. Besides, the only reason why she was changing was so that her clothes didn't get soaked.

Hinata realized that, if he wanted to, Kage could see through her clothes with his Kokugan. Just like the Byakugan, the only things limiting what he could see was his blind spot and distance, not obstacles like mere clothing, or even walls. Hinata supposed she'd just have to trust Kage to keep his eyes where they belonged.

* * *

**Quick AN: this is Hinata's bikini. **

http:// shadowoflight01 .deviantart .com /art/ATB-HINATA-138723743

**[****link****]**

* * *

"Okay, I'm done!" Hinata yelled out. Well, it wasn't quite a shout, but it was for the soft-spoken Hyuga heiress.

Kage walked back with a now-conscious Naruto. Both boys' jaws dropped in shock at Hinata's clothing… or lack thereof. She was wearing a lavender bikini, which barely covered her developing chest and buttocks. Hinata blushed, unused to such attention while almost naked. She quickly went to the surface of the pond.

Hinata began to dance, awkwardly at first, but then smoothly and gracefully as she forgot about her nervousness. Her motions were fluid and elegant, but her actions were for far more than show. Light blue chakra began to trail from her hands, and the droplets of water raised by her dancing got caught up in it. Hinata made a half-spin, her semi-long blue hair trailing behind her. Slowly, a dome of water droplets began to form around Hinata.

_Amazing…_ Kage thought. Never before had he seen Hinata in this way. He had always thought his nee-chan was pretty, but now he saw her as beautiful. No, the only word to describe her would be 'perfect'. _Great, I'm supposed to be a cynic, not a romantic._ But Hinata's gorgeousness was an aesthetic feast to Kage's famished eyes as she made a half spin, her semi-long dark blue hair trailing behind her once again. _I wonder what Hinata-chan would look like without a bikini…or anything else. NO! I can't this like that, bad pervet, bad pervet. Hinata is my __**friend**__, not eye candy. _

Could two such views be together in the same person? Or were they too contradictory? Hinata was more than just a friend; she was family. But could she be even more? The water droplet dome was now fully formed around Hinata, close to six feet in diameter. With shock, Kage noticed that the dome was not static, but composed of multiple paths of moving droplets. Hinata was controlling the entire thing with her chakra! As Hinata finished, the dome faltered, and all the moisture dropped to the ground.

Naruto was about to say something like: "Wow, that was a really pretty dance, Hinata-nee-chan!" But he thought he was missing something important. He looked over at his black-haired brother to see if he understood. Naruto saw that Kage had a small trickle of drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. _Okay, now I know for sure that I'm missing something._ Naruto thought. "Um, that was cool and all, but is there something I'm missing?"

Kage didn't respond; he was too busy looking at Hinata, who was busy blushing furiously. Naruto rolled his eyes and said something incredibly sensible: "Hey, Hinata, I think Kage and I should give you a little privacy while you change back, and then we can talk."

Hinata nodded, and Naruto grabbed Kage and pulled him away. Hinata's blush took a while to fade; she had definitely noticed Kage staring at her. It actually made her feel kind of……good. Hinata knew that she was a bit more…………developed than other girls her age. It was satisfying to know that Kage appreciated her assets. _Wait, what? Why am I thinking like this about Kage-kun? He's just a really good friend, no more……Right?_

Hinata started putting her regular clothes back on, both happy and sad. It was awkward to bare so much skin, but the way Kage looked at her definitely gave the Hyuga girl a sense of excitement. _It's the same feeling as when I saw him without a shirt. Oh, I could just run my hands over his…no, no, No, NO! I will not be a pervert! But what is this feeling? _

* * *

Naruto waved his hand in front of Kage's dark brown eyes, but he was non-responsive. The blonde sighed and gave Kage a hard punch to the gut. This resulted in Kage bringing his katana out by instinct and placing it on Naruto's throat.

"Um, yeah…" Naruto sweatdropped. "So are you done ogling Hinata now?"

Kage immediately blushed and jumped back. "I was _not_ ogling anybody." He protested.

"Uh huh." Naruto said, walking back in the direction of the pond. "Well, at least we know now that you're not gay. With the way you flee from fangirls, I wasn't quite sure."

Kage had no comeback to that, so he scowled and silently followed Naruto.

* * *

Hinata and Kage both blushed again on seeing each other. Naruto sweatdropped.

"Um, s-s-so, y-yeah." Kage said awkwardly. _Damn it! If this was anymore awkward, I would be prodding my fingers together…………………although, it is rather cute when Hinata-chan does it. AHHH, there I go again!_

"Uhhh…… so what's up w-with Kakashi-sensei?" Kage asked irrelevantly. "He tells us to train, and then he doesn't show up f-for three weeks.

* * *

_Somewhere else…_

Kakashi sneezed, covering his mask so that he didn't get any moisture on his precious book. _Hmm, someone must be thinking about me…oh well._ He flipped to the next page of his infamous orange book, giggling pervertedly.

* * *

"Who cares? Now, one of you tell me what that was all about." Naruto said. "As Kakashi-sensei would say: 'I think it get it, but that's not the same as actually getting it. Get it?'"

Kage rolled his eyes, secretly glad to have a topic to distract himself with. "I'm not positive, but I have a pretty good idea. I think H-Hinata-chan should explain, after all, it is her own creation."

Hinata blushed and nodded. "Um, w-well, it's similar to Kaiten **(Rotation)**, an ultimate defense move of the H-Hyuga clan. But it is not limited by duration, and has a greater r-range of effect as well, and I w-won't get dizzy when I use it."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Uh huh… I think I get it. So it's like that thingy Kage did on the bridge against the missing nin that could create ice, except you can make it last longer and strike further away, right?"

Kage interrupted. "Its not just _like_ Kaiten……it's better. It can also be used as a full offense against close-range or charging opponents, as well. Right?" Hinata nodded. "Hmmmm…… remarkable. Hinata's natural flexibility is the main factor in allowing this to work. Coupled with her striking speed, which I doubt I could match even with the Kokugan, makes it more versatile than Rotation. Also, it uses less chakra."

Hinata looked down. _Was it that easy to figure out my jutsu? _"Oh… I don't e-even have it m-mastered, yet." _I don't even know if can complete it…_

"Huh. Well, let me know when you do. I'm sure it'll be quite impressive when you're done with it." Kage said in his mostly-unintentional, off-handedly complimentary manner.

_He's saying it like a statement, not a possibility. Why does he believe in me so much?_

"Nii-san, have you figured out a-anything new?" Kage turned to Naruto, ignorant of Hinata's thoughts.

Naruto shrugged. "No, but I figured out that if I channel wind chakra through a weapon, its penetrating power increases."

Kage nodded. "I'll keep it in mind, but it's difficult for me to use wind chakra instead of fire chakra. Now come closer, you two."

Hinata and Naruto stood closer to him, and Kage created a soundproof barrier.

"I have something that the Konoha Civilian Council has declared an A-rank Secret."

Hinata gasped. "Kage-kun, you s-shouldn't tell us! If the Council deemed it so important, then people shouldn't know a-about it!"

Kage snorted. "Maybe that was true twenty years ago, but the Council is a cesspool of corruption and favoritism. Yes, yes, I know, blasphemy against the Council is punishable by death or imprisonment, yada, yada." Kage's face and tone remained calm, as if he was discussing the weather. "The Civilian Council's actions can be deadlocked by the Shinobi Council… Wait a minute, why the hell do we have a Civilian Council? Konoha is a freaking ninja village, for Kami's sake!"

Hinata frowned. They might be civilians, but they had a lot of legislative power over Konoha's non-shinobi populace, which made up a large majority of Konoha's population. Almost one hundred percent of the time, the Civilian Council's goals were in direct opposition of the Shinobi Council's goals, and as a result nothing important ever got done, as a two-thirds majority was needed from both Council's to get any law passed. Also, killing a member of either Council was punishable by death……if one got caught.

"Anyways." Kage continued casually. "The Council is obsessed with the Uchiha, somehow they still think it is the strongest clan, despite the fact that one teenager murdered the entire clan by himself." He laughed at Hinata and Naruto's surprised faces. "Oops, there goes an S-ranked Secret… tell you about it later. Like I was saying, the Council is favoring the 'last Uchiha', so they are going to do anything possible to give him an advantage in the Chunin Exams. Sasuke-teme has awakened his Sharingan."

Naruto whistled. "Whoa…what are the chances of one of us beating him head-on-head."

"Me, I'd kill him in less than ten seconds if I went all out." Kage said immediately, as if he had thought about several scenarios, which he had. "Same with Hinata: the Sharingan may allow the user to process visual information at high speeds, but the user is still limited by the speed of his or her reactions. In other words, the Sharingan is of no use if the user cannot move quickly enough to respond. Therefore, Sasuke is nearly useless against Hinata; she doesn't rely heavily on jutsu and her striking speed is far too fast for him to comprehend. You, Naruto, could spam him with shadow clones, if you didn't want to use the Kyuubi's youkai. Like Meizu, he can probably take out a lot of them, but will eventually make a mistake or get tired. The Sharingan doesn't increase stamina, either.

"Ano, Kage-kun, how do you know s-so much about the Sharingan?" Hinata asked, most likely already knowing the answer.

"Forbidden Scroll I stole from the Uchiha Compound." Kage replied nonchalantly, and Naruto and Hinata sweatdropped.

Kage smirked. "Don't ask a question if you aren't going to like the answer."

* * *

_The next day, December 27…_

"Hinata-sama? Hinata-sama! The Elders would like to speak to you in one hour!"

Hinata groaned, pulling the pillow over her head as if to muffle the sound of a voice. But the knocking and calling continued, and Hinata forced herself out of bed. "Okay, I'm a-awake."

She slowly dressed, taking time to clear her mind. _That's right, isn't it? Today's my birthday._

"Happy birthday to me…" Hinata said softly to herself as she put on her clothes, ready to face another day.

* * *

Hiashi noted with concern the blank look on his eldest daughters face. He quickly realized it was just a mask to hide her feelings. _Since when did Hinata decide to hide her feelings?_

Hinata looked at the six Elders, three each on both sides of her father. "Can I help you?" She said sourly. Hiashi fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. _Hinata, showing annoyance?_

"Silence! We will address your lack of respect later. This is an important clan matter." One of the elders shouted, intending to cow Hinata into submission, as per what the Elders usually did.

"Fantastic." Hinata deadpanned. She could really care less what the Elders wanted. Truth was, Hinata was in a piss-poor mood, because after all their promises, Naruto and Kage had forgotten about her birthday. They didn't even mention it in the last month; it just flew completely right out of their heads. Hinata forgave them anyways, but she was still annoyed.

This time, Hiashi did raise an eyebrow. _Perhaps her teammates are influencing Hinata more than I thought…_

The elder scowled and opened his mouth, but Hiashi cut him off. "Very well. After all, I'm sure Hinata has been training very hard for the Chunin Exams. Not many genin teams get recommended for the Chunin Exams in their first year." Hiashi said reasonably, shooting the elder a look. "However, you will need to have a match with Hanabi before you can go."

Hinata was surprised. She hadn't had a match with her little sister in… what was it, a year and a half? Hinata shrugged. "S-Sure."

* * *

Hinata and Hanabi both stood facing each other in ready stances.

Hinata remembered how Kage's cool indifference always drove Naruto insane. "Can we h-hurry this up, Hanabi?"

Hanabi smiled cruelly, a disturbing sight on her young face. She activated her Byakugan. "Well, since you want me to hurry, I'll take my time in beating you into the ground." She rushed Hinata, trying to go for an early immobilizing strike.

Hinata absentmindedly brushed Hanabi's hands to the side. _Since when did Hanabi become so cruel?_ She gently grabbed Hanabi's wrist and moved her to the side.

* * *

"One, two, block a few…" Kage murmured elsewhere, placing rectangular wooden braces underneath a large speaker.

* * *

Hinata gently stepped to the side, leaving a foot trailing behind, which Hanabi tripped on. Due to the polished hardwood floor and the robes Hanabi was wearing, she skidded several feet before coming to a half. _Nee-chan's strikes are rushed; she's not having a solid base. Why?_

* * *

"Three, four, clean the floor." Naruto grumbled as he and a few clones began to clean the tile floor in preparation for later.

* * *

_Is she…angry?_

Hanabi jumped up, but Hinata prodded the back of her right knee and the younger sister fell flat on her face again.

* * *

"Five, six, how do they get their kicks?" Kage asked himself, stocking the refrigerator with sodas, fruit punch, and other nonalcoholic drinks. Neither he nor Naruto drank, but everyone had different favorite beverages.

* * *

Hinata casually turned her head to the side as Hanabi's extended fingers missed her skull by a fraction of an inch. What was Hanabi thinking? There were practically no useful tenketsu in the head… except those in the brain. _Is Hanabi trying to kill me?_

* * *

"Seven, eight, don't have hate…" Naruto said softly to himself and his clones, trying to fight the urge to murder his brother for making him clean the floor. _Wait a minute, why am I cleaning the floor with my clones? I can just have my shadow clones do the work!_ Naruto jumped up and handed the bucket of soapy water to a clone.

* * *

Hinata frowned. Hanabi's childish face was contorted with an expression of hatred. _If this is how she acts towards me, how would she act towards a Branch Member if one angered her? She'd probably kill them on the spot with the Caged Bird Seal._ Hinata thought sadly. Faster than Hanabi could ever hope to react, Hinata was behind her younger sister and tapped her neck with a whisper of chakra, not even needing the Byakugan to do so. Hanabi collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

"I'm s-sorry, Hanabi…"

* * *

"Nine, ten, no more reason to do this again." Kage muttered, tuning the strings on his instrument. This was such a pain; but when Kage actually focused on doing something, he was meticulous down to the very last detail. He strummed the longest string and cocked his head as he listened. _No, that's not good enough…_ He wiggled the tuning knob back and forth, trying to find the correct tautness.

* * *

The six Hyuga Elders stood in shock as Hanabi dropped to the floor lifelessly. The girl they had considered the optimal choice for the next Clan Head had just been defeated in less than ten seconds, and Hinata hadn't needed to activate her Byakugan to do so.

Hinata turned to face the Elders. "Ano, if that i-is all then I will take my leave." Without waiting for a response, she turned and left, leaving the Elders speechless at her disrespect (Among the Hyuga Clan, it is standard protocol to wait for permission to be excused. Hinata's actions stated that she is either above the Elders, or doesn't recognize their authority to command her.) Hiashi suppressed a smile. _She appears to be picking up some of Kage's or Naruto's disrespect……Good. If she were softer, the Elders would rip her to shreds. By showing a bit of her inner steel, Hinata has made the Elders cautious, delaying any negative action they might make._

Hiashi cleared his throat. "That was settled nice and quickly." He said with just the faintest sliver of sarcasm. "Well, what are you all standing around for? Someone go check to see if Hanabi is okay, and someone else go get me some tea. Jasmine, if you will." He smiled. It was good to be Clan Head. _Hinata ending up on a team with Naruto and Kage has turned out to be most fortuitous. Not only is she becoming stronger, she is also toughening up mentally as well. _

* * *

Hinata sighed as she walked aimlessly down the streets of Konoha. Something Kage said several weeks earlier came to mind

"_Hinata-chan, remember that if you ever need a place to stay, or someone to talk to, you can always come here." _

Her mind made up, Hinata took a route that would lead her to Naruto and Kage's house. Surely they could liven up her day, right?

Hinata rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. She waited, twisting a lock of her blue hair around a finger, admiring Kage's ring and Naruto's wristband. There was no answer. Hinata tried the door, and it was unlocked. She tentatively opened it and stepped inside—the room was pitch black.

"Surprise!" Multiple voices shouted.

* * *

**A/N: That was pretty cliché, no? End of Chapter.**

**In case you didn't know, the scene from **_**Memories**_** was from Chapter 2, when Kage killed the men who attacked Naruto.**

**Yes, Kage sleeps with his sword (wow, that sounded creepy. I meant that he sleeps with it next to him, in a nonsexual way).**

**In case none of you are picking up on the hints I've been dropping since Chapter 3… the shadow has been noticing the attractiveness of a sunny place. [LOL leave a review if you get that…]**

**I will be introducing Naruto's romantic interest after the Chunin Exam arc. If there are any of you yaoi fans out there, sorry, but it's going to be a girl. And there will be heterosexual lemons in the future.**

**Love it or leave it, but you gotta review it! I mean, hell, you've obviously spent some time reading it. Can't you spend 30 seconds to review it?**

**Naruto: OM NOM NOM! I love reviews! I eat them, too, dattebayo! Help me get fa—**

***Choji glares.***

***Naruto sweatdrops***

**Naruto: Um, so yeah, review –ttebayo!**


	9. Chapter 9: Hinata's Birthday!

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**You must me mentally dysfunctional if you think I own Naruto, Jimmy Eat World, or their song "The Middle."**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**1/18/2010**

* * *

Chapter 9: Hinata's Birthday

"Surpise!" Multiple voices shouted, and the lights flickered on to reveal the Rookie 10, minus Sasuke and Sakura.

Hinata was floored. "N-N-Nani?"

Ino smiled. "What, didja think we'd forget our classmate's birthday?" _Actually, we did. _Ino thought guiltily.

"You did, Ino." Shikamaru noted lazily. "Naruto and Kage had to remind you. All of us, actually.

Ino mentally cursed. _Damn you, Shikamaru! Way to make me look like an idiot…_

"Um, well I was kind of fuzzy on the exact day." Ino tried to save face. "But I really wanted to celebrate your birthday, Hinata, honest!" _And Kage-kun is here!_ Ino squealed mentally, sounding like her namesake (Ino means boar).

Hinata blushed in happiness. "Ano, but where are K-Kage-kun and Naruto-kun? Isn't this their house?"

Kiba stepped forwards, holding a cup of red fruit punch. Hinata hoped dearly that it hadn't been spiked. "Yeah, but they were just waiting for you. Hey Naruto, Kage, the birthday girl is here!" He called out before turning back to Hinata. Akamaru yipped from atop Kiba's head. "Come on lets get to the living room. Oh, and Akamaru says Happy Birthday."

Hinata giggled, not sure if Kiba was telling the truth or making it up, but amused anyways. "Why thank y-you, Akamaru-chan."

In the living room, Hinata saw that the furniture had been rearranged, to that all of the couches and chairs were arranged in slightly less than a half circle around a 15x15 foot wooden stage. There were two large, black speakers on both sides of the stage. Hinata could easily tell that there was an incredibly poorly constructed genjutsu around the stage. All of her classmates gestured for her to walk up to the stage, and Hinata immediately got nervous. _Do they want me to sing?_

But no, there was a small card on the stage. It read:

_Happy Birthday, Hinata!_

_Here is the first part of your presents. Find a comfy chair to sit in, tell everyone else to sit down, release the genjutsu, and enjoy the show!_

Hinata was confused, but did as the instructions said. Once everyone was seated, Hinata put her hands together and flared her chakra slightly in order to disrupt the genjutsu. The air around the stage shimmered, revealing three microphones on stands, a 4-drum percussion set, plus cymbals. A large orange and red banner said: "Baka Bushin Brothers!" There was a log sitting on the chair in front of the drums, and a log in front of each microphone.

Hinata and a few other people gasped, knowing what was going to happen next. Shikamaru muttered "Troublesome."

In four poofs of smoke, the four logs were replaced with bodies. Naruto appeared in front of the lead microphone, and another Naruto appeared in front of another microphone, holding an odd, four-stringed instrument with a roundish shape where his strumming hand was. There was a white shuriken printed on the face of the instrument. Kage appeared sitting behind the drums, twirling the drumsticks in his hand. Another Kage appeared in front of the last microphone, holding a six-string guitar, the emblem of a red kunai emblazoned on the face.

The Naruto without an instrument stepped forwards and grabbed the microphone. "Hey everybody, what's up? This is song is for a very close friend of ours, who just so happens to be the birthday girl, herself, Hinata! Hinata-chan, get ready for 'The Middle'!"

Naruto and Kage:

*Kage begins with a guitar solo, the Naruto with bass slowly joining in, the Kage on the drum set picking up the tempo, and Naruto and Kage begin to sing in unison.*

_Hey…don't write yourself off yet.  
It's only in your head you feel left out,  
Or looked down on.  
Just try your best, try everything you can.  
And don't you worry what they tell themselves,  
When you're away._

It just takes some time, little girl in the middle of the ride,  
Everything, everything will be just fine, be just fine,  
Everything, everything it'll be alright, alright.

Hey…you know they're all the same,  
You know you're doing better on your own, on your own,  
So don't buy in.  
Live right now.  
Yeah, just be yourself.  
It doesn't matter if it's good enough,  
For someone else.

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything, everything it'll be just fine, be just fine.  
Everything, everything it'll be alright, alright.  
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride, middle of the ride.  
Everything, everything it'll be just fine, be just fine.  
Everything, everything it'll be alright, alright.

_*Another guitar and drum and bass solo from Naruto & Kage*_

_  
Hey, don't write yourself off yet,  
It's only in your head if you feel left out,  
Or looked down on.  
Just do your best, do your best, do everything you can.  
And don't you worry what the bitter hearts, are gonna say._

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.  
Everything, everything it'll be just fine, be just fine.  
Everything, everything it'll be alright, alright.  
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride, middle of the ride.  
Everything, everything it'll be just fine, be just fine.  
Everything, everything it'll be alright!

Naruto and Kage ended the song, to the loud applause from everyone in the room. Everyone was amazed that Naruto and Kage could play and sing so well. (They actually had ten shadow clones each practicing throughout the last month, so they basically had one year's worth of experience). The Naruto without an instrument and the Kage behind the drums puffed into smoke, revealing themselves to have been shadow clones. The real Kage and Naruto took bows.

* * *

Hinata blew out the thirteen candles on a white cake that said, "Happy Birthday, Hinata!" in red frosting. Kage cut the cake (thankfully not with his sword, that would be gross), and served everyone a piece.

"Alright, presents time!"

Ino's present was the first to be opened. It was a flower-pressing kit and booklet. "I know you like to collect and press flowers, Hinata." Ino explained. "The book also gives the meanings of specific flowers."

Next was Choji's present. It was a large box of cinnamon rolls. Hinata _eeped_ in happiness, cinnamon rolls were her favorite desert. Choji grinned when he saw Hinata's reaction. He of all people could understand the enjoyment of food.

After Choji came Shikamaru's present. It was a tied bundle of deer horns. "It was troublesome, but I managed to get some shed deer horns from some of the bucks in the Nara family forest. If you put it in medicine, it can strengthen muscles and bones, and aid in the recovery of damaged vision or hearing loss." Hinata nodded. _How did he know that I like making medicine?_ She chalked it up to Shikamaru's natural intellect or observation skills.

Shino stepped forwards, holding a smooth, wooden butterfly around five inches wide. It had been intricately carved, attention being paid to the most miniscule detail. He handed it to Hinata silently, and she accepted the gift gratefully. "Thank you, Shino-san."

Kiba grinned. "Well, I thought about getting you kitty ears so that I could chase you around…" He flinched as Naruto and Kage sent him threatening glares, protective of Hinata. Kiba could have sworn that Naruto's eyes literally flashed red. Kage lifted his katana a few inches out of its sheath before letting it drop back with a metallic click. His glare said: _Dogs aren't the only thing that can be neutered._ Kiba laughed nervously. "Instead, I got you a recipe for a special type of soldier pill; it relieves sore or exhausted muscles instead of restoring mainly chakra." He quickly handed Hinata a small booklet and scurried away, Akamaru trembling under Naruto and Kage's glares.

Naruto's gift was a carved wooden statue of Hinata in a Juken stance. The wood wasn't perfectly smooth, but it was clear Naruto put a lot of time into it.

Last came Kage's gift. It was a scroll with several Suiton ninjutsu, all in Kage's handwriting. It included Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (**Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu**), as well. At the bottom of the scroll, there was a note. It read:

_Hey Hinata, I hope you like your gift! You should be able to do some of these at your current level of water chakra mastery, and when you improve even more you can do some of the more difficult ones. Also, I have a second gift, but I'll wait until after the party to give it to you._

_-Kage_

Hinata rolled the scroll up, and the partygoers sighed, unable to see the rest of the cool jutsus.

"Ano," Hinata said. "That's a-all the presents. What now?"

Naruto heard light snoring, and turned to see Shikamaru, asleep.

"So… who wants to play pin the tail on Shikamaru?" Naruto said with an evil smile.

* * *

The rest of the day and night was spent playing games. Hinata was generally the center of attention, and she was practically glowing with happiness the entire day. Naruto managed to talk to who he considered the smartest members of the other teams (Shino and Shikamaru), and reached an agreement that their teams wouldn't use lethal force against each other in the Chunin Exams. Kage spent his time trying to avoid Ino, while shooting threatening glares at any boy who looked like he was about to flirt with Hinata (mainly Kiba).

A few hours and several painful experiences later, the party eventually wound down. Eventually, everyone left except Naruto and Kage, since it was their house, and Hinata, who Kage still had a second gift for.

Naruto was washing the dishes (he forgot that he could've just used a shadow clone), when Kage handed Hinata her present.

Hinata opened the box. Inside was a jacket and pants. The sleeves of the jacket were an off-white color, and the torso was a deep lavender. On the sleeves was the red flame in a circle of yellow, the symbol of the Hyuga Clan. The pants were the same shade of purple as the jacket. "Thank you, K-Kage-kun!"

**(AN: This is basically Hinata's outfit in shippuden, just slightly smaller.)**

Kage gestured for her to try it on, and Hinata did so, shedding her former jacket for the new one.

"It's very comfortable." Hinata noted. "It's just a tiny bit t-too big."

"Does it restrict your movement?" Kage asked with concern. Like him, his thoughts were first and foremost that of a ninja. Clothing was useless if it was comfortable, but got you killed.

Hinata shook her head. "No…why? Do you w-want me to fight in it?" Hinata blushed. Of course Kage wouldn't just give her something mundane, everything he did had a purpose…usually.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Hinata replied without hesitation.

Kage picked up metal fork that the partiers had used to eat cake and stabbed at Hinata with enough force to break skin. Hinata tensed as the fork came in contact with her stomach, but instead of a sharp stabbing feeling, it felt like a soft wind blowing against her chest for a brief moment.

"Every square centimeter of the jacket and pants is covered in a special seal. The seals resist and redistribute any pressure." Kage said proudly. "So basically, if you get stabbed with a kunai, it'll feel like a soft punch. But if you get hit by something really strong, or a powerful jutsu, the seals will be disrupted and fall apart."

Kage winked at her, and Hinata blushed. "Don't tell anyone I can do this…" He warned, and activated his Kokugan. Curious, Hinata activated her Byakugan to watch what Kage was going to do. Seeing a tenketsu on Hinata's left hand, Kage gently tapped it, releasing a bit of chakra out of his fingers. It wasn't enough to fully close the tenketsu, but it did numb Hinata's hand.

"Ahh!" Hinata yelped and pulled her hand away. "Um, crap, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Kage babbled.

Hinata shook her hand. "D-Don't worry, Kage-kun. You didn't close the t-tenketsu, my hand is just a l-little numb."

"Oh." Kage said, relieved. "I thought I hurt you, for a second." Before his mind could catch up, Kage had reached over and taken Hinata's hand in his own. Realizing what he had just done, Kage pretended to inspect Hinata's skin for the telltale redness of a closed tenketsu. _Stupid! What the hell was that?_ Kage knew he was probably blushing, but so was Hinata.

"Um, yeah." Kage hurriedly said, letting go of Hinata's hand. "So now watch this." This time, Kage struck a tenketsu in Hinata's upper arm, this time with more than enough chakra to pierce the clothing and close off the tenketsu. Hinata gasped in surprise as she watched the chakra enter the fabric of the jacket, and seem to spread out through the material, the way a wet spot would slowly spread on an article of clothing. She realized that the chakra was not being neutralized by the seals, it was being absorbed and used to strengthen the fabric!

"Kage-kun, h-how m-much did this c-cost you?" Hinata stammered. _What? Something like this is absolutely priceless! Attire that is no heavier than regular clothing, yet offers the protection of chain mail or plate mail, while still allowing full flexibility to the person wearing it!?!_

"I'm a prince, remember? I don't have to pay anything, hime." Kage looked vaguely offended. "Heh, just kidding. I made it myself."

Hearing that, Hinata nearly passed out. _NANI!? _As she fell forwards, Kage caught her by the shoulders and helped her sit down on the couch.

"Y-You made it for m-me?" Hinata asked with amazement. _Kage-kun must have put a lot of effort into this. Just for me? _

"Well, I bought the clothes at a store." Kage said humbly, one hand behind his head. "I also had a tailor create the Hyuga Flame so that your family is okay with you wearing it. But I did all the Fuinjutsu (Sealing). I'm not going to coddle you, but I want to make sure you're safe."

Hinata blushed. _He cares for me! Ohhh, Kage-kun. What is it I feel for you?_

Kage slipped his hand into the top back of the jacket, not noticing the shiver than ran down Hinata's spine. _Do you even realize what you do to me, Kage-kun? _Hinata tensed, feeling Kage's warm hand at the back of her neck. Kage removed the sales tag and pulled his hands away.

"Eh heh heh. Forgot about the tag…" Kage noticed Hinata's widened eyes, quickened breathing, and stiffened posture.

_Maybe…she feels like I do?_ Kage wondered. He took her hands in his, and noticed her heavy blush. _Aha, she does! I have to tell her, this is tearing me apart!_

"Hinata, I want to tell you something." Kage sighed. "I'm not good with words, or emotions. Lately, I've been really confused. My thoughts are scattered all the time, they keep straying…" _Back to you._ Kage completed mentally.

"I don't know what to call it……but it feels something like this:"

Slowly, Kage gently pressed his lips to Hinata's, the shock of contact greater than lighting. He reveled in the soft feeling of her lips. _She doesn't want me. _Kage thought sadly, and was about to pull away when he felt Hinata kissing him back. Her lavender eyes gently closed, Hinata angled her head to get more of Kage's warm lips. Feeling excited, Hinata covered Kage's mouth with her own as he gasped. He did the same for her when he surprised her by wrapping her up in a warm, feverish embrace.

Eventually, the two broke apart. "Whoa…" Kage murmured.

Hinata giggled at Kage's dazed expression and nuzzled closer to him. "Byakugan." Hinata checked around the house. "Um, N-Naruto-kun d-d-doesn't l-look like h-he'll b-be d-done with the d-dishes anytime s-soon…" Hinata couldn't get herself to finish the sentence as Kage's dark brown eyes met her lavender ones.

Luckily, Kage understood exactly what Hinata meant. Leaning forwards, the two teenagers took themselves to their own, private paradise.

* * *

**AN: Yeah, I so went there. The song 'The Middle' is owned by Jimmy Eat World, I have nothing to do with it. However, it seemed like a great song for the situation.**

**Kage and Hinata finally got together! But what other problems will come up in their relationship? *cough cough* Hiashi *cough***

**Like I said before, Naruto's partner will be introduced after the Chunin exams, and will not be an OC.**

**Sorry this chapter is so short; the next one will be much longer.**


	10. 1st Stage&2nd Stage: 1st Base&2nd Base!

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I also have a new poll up: For my next NaruHina fic, what scenario should I do?**

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:/ dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**1/24/2010**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Chunin Exams!

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled as Team 7 climbed the stairwell. "Look out, Chunin Exams, Team 7 is here!"

Kage scowled. "There's no one else here, nii-san. Please don't be any more of an aggravation that necessary."

Together, Team 7 had formed a plan for the Chunin Exams to make all the other teams underestimate them. Naruto would play the loud-mouth, obnoxious brat, who was all talk and no show. Hinata would pretend to be a shy kunoichi who was afraid of combat (She only had to fake the second part). Kage assumed the air of the apathetic brooder, moderately skilled but somewhat distanced from reality. Together, they projected a sense of disunity to other teams.

This could not be further from the truth. Hinata, Naruto, and Kage were a well-oiled fighting machine. In the same way each part is well oiled and works in perfect conjunction with the other parts, the three genin were smooth and could make well-coordinated attacks with each other.

Kage and Hinata decided to keep their budding relationship a secret. The couple was concerned with how other people would take it, particularly Hinata's father, or the Hyuga Council. Hinata and Kage figured that Naruto eventually would find out, but they wanted to see how long it took for the blonde to figure it out on their own. Meanwhile, they refrained from physical contact with each other in public, much to Kage and Hinata's dismay.

Exiting the stairwell, Naruto noticed a large crowd in the middle of the hallway, above a sign that said 301. _What the hell? We only climbed one flight of stairs; the numbers should be in the 200-299 range!_

Team Seven watched in amusement as a brunette with two hairbuns and a boy with a bowl haircut pleaded with two other genin for entrance. Kage noted with interest the twin kunai blades one of the unofficial door guards had. _Hmmm… those are more like scimitar than katana._

Hinata, too, had noticed something was wrong. She was about to activate her Byakugan when Kage tapped her on the shoulder. Hinata looked over at her boyfriend and blushed, remembering the feeling of his lips pressed against hers. Kage smiled, a knowing light in his eyes, but mouthed: _Wait._

In short order, Sasuke had announced to the entire crowd that the sign was simply a genjutsu, his ego obviously causing him to miss the fact that said genjutsu was present to weed out weaker competitors. Enraged, one of the genin kicked at Sasuke, who kicked back. The previous bowl-cut hair green spandex-clad genin quickly inserted himself between the two combatants, stopping both of their strikes.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. _This guy is skilled…strong, too._ He saw the boy walk up to Sakura and declare his eternal love for her, and also saw his summary rejection. _But obviously not too smart, and no good taste… I mean, seriously, what's up with those clothes? Neon orange is one thing, but who wears a spandex jumpsuit?_

Turning around, the boy pointed in Team 7 and Sasuke's direction. "Yosh, I am curious as to your name. I am Rock Lee."

Sasuke smiled superiorly. "Uchiha Sasuke, of the Uchiha Clan."

Lee smiled. "Very nice to meet you, Sasuke, but I was not talking to you." He brushed past Sasuke and stood in front of Kage. "I am asking him."

"My name is unimportant." Kage stated. "In battle, I look forwards to meeting you." He said, deliberately mysterious before turning and walking down the hallway. Naruto and Hinata quickly followed him.

"YOSH, I BELIEVE THAT I JUST MET MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee screamed, tears falling from his eyes.

Tenten bopped Lee on the back of his head. "Will you shut up? I think Guy-sensei could have heard you, you screamed so loud."

"IF GUY-SENSEI—" Lee started, but Tenten flicked her wrist and raised a kunai threateningly. Lee flinched and continued in a normal tone. "If Guy-sensei heard my voice; that is true testament to the strength of my youthful voice! You guys go on. There's something I want to test."

* * *

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The Uchiha whined.

Kage ignored Sasuke's demands/requests/begs for a spar the way a person ignored the buzzing of a fly. Kage figured that about every 43 seconds on average, he would switch from him to Naruto and sometimes Hinata, constantly demanding a spar.

Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, Shino, and Kiba were hanging back, with varying levels of amusement and in Sakura's case, anger.

"Yosh." Called a voice from above. **(No, it's not god.)** The seven rookies looked up to see Rock Lee, from before. He pointed a bandaged hand at Kage. "Will you fight me?"

"Now?" Kage asked, surprised.

"Yes." Lee jumped off the second story and landed on the first floor. "I want to fight you, Akanami no Kage **(Kage of the Red Wave, or Shadow of the Red Wave)**."

Kage silently raised an eyebrow, shocked that the nickname that the villagers of the Land of Waves had become known even in Konoha. _At least Konoha doesn't call Team 7 the 'Demons of the Waves,' like Inari did_.

"I want to test my skills against this graduating class's Rookie of the Year." Lee continued.

"I would prefer to just be called Kage. Kage-san, if you must." Kage said.

"Tch. Why do you want to face that loser?" Sasuke snorted. "He's a nobody—"

"A nobody who wiped the floor with your ass…" Kiba noted, causing snickers from Hinata and Naruto, but a punch from Sakura.

"I am not interested in fighting you, Sasuke-san." Lee stated. "I want to test myself, and as such, I only wish to fight Kage-san."

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Sasuke roared as he charged. "I am an Uchiha, superior by birth and a genius by right."

Naruto snorted in derision. Kage moved over, giving Lee and Sasuke room to maneuver. He, Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, and Sakura were all standing in a group.

Hinata watched as Lee dodged Sasuke's punch so quickly that he seemed to disappear. _He's fast…but still not nearly quick as Kage, even without his Kokugan activated, or maybe even me._

Lee appeared in the air behind Sasuke. "Konoha Senpu **(Leaf Whirlwind)**!" He shot a kick at Sasuke, who ducked. Falling to the ground, Lee twisted his body and landed on his hands, following up with a rising kick. His orange legwarmer-clad foot smashed into Sasuke's face, propelling him backwards.

"Well, that was fast." Kage commented dryly.

"Hey Kage, I thought you didn't have a last name." Kiba noted, and Akamaru yipped in agreement. "What was that Lee called you?"

Kage decided that it was okay to tell Kiba a little bit. "Akanami no Kage. It was a nickname given to me by our client in our A-rank mission."

"Mere nicknames rarely become well known as a title." Shino noted in a monotone.

"Indeed. It was given as a result of my actions during the mission." Kage watched with interest as Sasuke stood up, his Sharingan activated. _Reading about it is one thing, watching it in action is another. Let's see if my suspicions are correct._ "I can't tell you any more, it is a classified mission, after all."

_Result of his actions, huh?_ Kiba thought. _It certainly has a nice ring to it. _

Hinata noted with disgust the admiration in Sakura's green eyes despite the fact that Sasuke hadn't landed a single hit on Lee. _Fangirls like Sakura do nothing but stand around and waste air. They should become cheerleaders, not shinobi. Girls like Sakura give a bad name to all kunoichi._ Hinata thought. _At least Sakura won't try to steal my Kimi._

Naruto watched Lee beat the crap out of Sasuke. _In a pure taijutsu battle, Lee would beat me for sure. But throw in some shadow clones, or some other jutsu…I hope I get to face him later._

_Hmm, looks like I was right. _Kage thought. _Sasuke is still limited by the speed of his body; even if he perceives Lee's attacks, he can't move quickly enough to block or counter._

Lee launched his opponent with another kick. In midair, he appeared behind and under Sasuke. "Kage Buyo **(Shadow of the Dancing Leaf)**!" He twisted his arm, and the bandages unraveled. The green-clad genin was about to finish Sasuke, when a senbon with a pinwheel on it pinned the bandage to the wall.

"That's enough, Lee!" A giant red tortoise shouted.

_What…the…hell!_ The spectators thought. _Where did that thing come from?_

Lee pushed Sasuke to the side, landing on his feet in front of the turtle. Sakura dashed to Sasuke's landing point and caught him.

"That's… that's a giant turtle, right? I'm not just seeing things, right?" Naruto stammered, a giant sweatdrop forming at the back of his head. _Um...deus ex machina, anyone?_

Equally shocked, Kage watched Lee apologize to the tortoise. "I think so. Unless we're all being subjected to a genjutsu." Poor Kage didn't know that that would come later.

Akamaru placed his paws over his eyes as a similarly clad man appeared on top of the tortoise and punched Lee. His animal instincts told him that he did not want to see what would happen next.

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Shino, Hinata, Kage, and Kiba all failed to have the same precognition, and were caught in Lee and Guy's infamous Sunset Hug Genjutsu.

"Ahhh, I can't break it!" Sakura yelled. She cut her hand with a kunai, but it failed to dispel the genjutsu.

Eventually, Lee and Guy stopped on their own. Guy was about to give Lee 100 laps, but decided to postpone his punishment until after the Chunin Exams.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Kiba growled, rubbing his eyes as if to erase the afterimage printed on his retinas. "Akamaru, no special treats for a week!" Akamaru whimpered.

Gai turned and looked at the group. He pointed to Kage, Naruto, and Hinata. "Oh, you must be Kakashi's genins."

"You know Kakashi?" Kage wondered. He did his best to forget the disturbing scene he had just witnessed.

"Of course. Kakashi and I are eternal rivals!" Gai exclaimed. "I have a record of fifty wins to forty-nine losses."

_Nani? He's stronger than Kakashi sensei?_ Hinata wondered. _Well, he's certainly more eccentric_

"Well, I must get going. Good luck in the Chunin Exams." Guy said, and disappeared in a shushin.

Lee started to wrap up his hand. "There are two kinds of people, Sasuke-san. Those who advance their skill by natural genius and those who advance their skill by hard work. I am the later, while you are the former, Sasuke. You rely on your blood limit and surname to excel, while I have worked to master taijutsu. You can see what the results are."

Sasuke growled, but Lee ignored him and turned to Kage. "I had heard that you, too, were the genius type, Kage-san. I would have liked to truly test my skills against you."

Kage shrugged. "No big deal. We still might face each other in the Chunin Exams." Inwardly, Kage was a bit uncomfortable. _Has he heard about my doujutsu, as well? No one, other than Hinata-hime and Naruto-nii-san should know for sure about it._

Kage was about to go follow Naruto and Hinata to room 301, the room where the Chunin Exam began, but stopped.

"One more thing, Lee-san." Kage used the suffix to indicate his newfound respect for Lee. "Natural talent can only go so far. People like you and me…to improve, we work so hard that we cry tears of sweat, sweat blood, and bleed pure determination." He continued walking away.

_Yosh, I have truly found my eternal rival!_ Lee thought, sudden anime tears streaming down his face.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Kage stopped in shock as they entered room 301. _So many people…_

"Kage-kuuuuuun!" Ino squealed as she jumped on Kage and hugged him from behind…only to find that she was hugging Shikamaru, who was somehow sleeping, while standing on his feet.

"How troublesome." Kage mocked in Shikamaru's annoyed tone, sitting where the Nara had sat before Kage used Kawarimi no Jutsu to switch places right before Ino hugged him.

_Sorry, I'm taken. _Kage thought.

_Stay away from him, Ino-buta! _Hinata thought. _I hear Juken strikes to the ovaries are particularly painful…_

"Gah, Shikamaru, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ino screamed.

"Huh? What's going on?" Shikamaru yawned as he woke up. The pony-tailed blonde promptly proceeded to beat him up.

"Troublesome…"

At that moment, Team 8 arrived. For some reason, Kiba thought it was a good idea to yell.

"Yahoo, so who's ready to get this thing started?" Kiba asked.

"Will you brats keep it down?"

The Rookie 10 turned to face the speaker. He was a tall-ish silver haired boy with glasses. He was clad in mostly purple, a darker shade than what Hinata was wearing.

"Name's Kabuto." The boy said. "You greenhorn genin remind me of how I used to be…tell you what, I have some special ninja information cards. I feel like helping you guys out, for some reason. Do you have any individuals in mind?"

"Rock Lee, Gaara of the Sand, and Akanami no Kage." Sasuke said immediately.

Naruto immediately became suspicious. _This doesn't make the faintest amount of sense. Since Kabuto's taken this exam before, he's obviously failed or he wouldn't be trying again. He should be wanting to keep every advantage possible, not giving away information to newcomers. Either he's really stupid and will get himself killed some day, or he has ulterior motives._

Kabuto nodded and pulled out a card. "Okay, first is Rock Lee. Lee is a year older than you guys. 20 D-rank, and twelve C-rank missions completed. His sensei is Might Guy. His taijutsu is very impressive, but not much else is. Like you guys, this is his first time. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuga Neji."

Kage noticed that Hinata stiffened at the last name, and made a mental note to ask her later.

"Next is Gaara of the Desert." Kabuto continued, drawing out another card. "8 C-rank and 1 B-rank missions completed. Wow, a B-rank mission as a genin. As he's from a different village, I don't have much more information on him. One last thing: he appears to have completed all missions without getting a single scratch."

"Lastly, I assume you mean Kage, instead of Akanami no Kage. 12 D-rank and… WHAT? An A-rank mission!" Kabuto exclaimed. He glanced up at Kage before looking back at the card. "Skilled in kenjutsu, Kage was this year's Rookie of the Year—"

Kage began to make handsigns behind his back, no one other than Naruto and Hinata noticed because they were too engrossed with Kabuto's cards.

"Apparently, Kakashi Hatake, his jonin sensei, has begun teaching him Chakra Nature Manipulation. Wow, usually only jonin or extremely skilled chunin do that! "His nature type is—"

"A-ACHOOO!" Kage fake-sneezed, blowing an extremely narrow stream of weak fire out of his mouth. Kabuto yanked his hand back as the card caught on fire. "Excuse me." Kage said with a completely straight face.

"Um, fire, as you can see." Kabuto continued. _Hmmm, the other child Orochimaru-sama was interested in is here as well, and is on the same team as the Kyuubi brat. This could cause problems…_

_Well done, Kimi._ Hinata thought. _Kabuto was going to give away your two types, fire and wind. By revealing that you had fire and 'accidentally' burning the card, you still have an ace in the hole if necessary. Also, none of the other genins know that Naruto and I are also going through Chakra Nature Manipulation training._

_What? Only the Uchiha are supposed to have such a strong mastery of fire at such a young age! How dare he?_ Sasuke thought.

"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!" A rough voice roared. And with those words, the Chunin Exams officially began.

* * *

Ibiki, a man with a scar running across his face, quickly explained the rules. No two people on the same team were sitting next to each other, unfortunate but expected.

"Each individual will start off with ten points. There are ten questions on the test, and lose one point for every question you get wrong. If you get all questions right, you keep all ten points. If you miss three questions, then you only have seven points. "

"Cheating will result in the loss of two points. Fools who think they are ninja, but are stupid enough to get caught are harming their chance at becoming chunin. Lastly, if a person loses all points and fails, so does his or her teammates."

_Hmm, this doesn't sound too hard at all._ Naruto thought. _As long as each team member gets at least one question correct, the team will pass. How hard is it to get one question out of ten?_

"You have one hour. Flip over your tests and begin!" Ibiki ordered.

The classroom was filled with the shuffling of papers.

_The first problem is a cryptogram. _Kage thought, spinning a pencil in his hand absentmindedly as he worked out the pattern. …_got it! Read right to left the first three characters, down four, left seven, up three, left one, up one, and left nine! I should do the other problems, too, just in case I didn't get that one right…_

Hinata idly poked her fingers together. _At that angle, distance, and speed, and person would have…_ She quickly worked out the problem. …_2.529603 seconds before hitting the ground!_

Naruto scratched the back of his blonde head. _I can understand one or two problems. Well, the answer to this problem is Choice C, of course. This is crazy, they seriously expect us to do this? The only way I could ever get more than half would be to cheat!…Wait a minute, we don't get disqualified the very first time they catch us cheat, unlike most tests…_

…_It's a system that encourages cheating. _Frustrated at not being able to answer some of the problems, Hinata rubbed her sleeve, drawing comfort from the fact that Kage put so much time into it. _The way he phrased it was odd: "Fools who think they are ninja, but are stupid enough to get caught are harming their chance at becoming chunin_."_ Wait, that's it!_

_They want us to cheat!_ Kage realized. He had really only been able to get some of the questions. _These questions are extremely difficult on purpose! No ordinary genin would be able to understand almost any of these problems. They want to see how good our information gathering skills are! But that means that there is someone who has all the answers already, a so-called lead mole, a secretly hidden informant._

Closing his eyes, as if deep thought, Kage leaned back in his chair in a relaxed manner. Activating his Kokugan, which no one would be able to see, his enhanced range of vision and penetrating gaze easily found someone with all the answers. _Heh, piece of cake. _

Forming a handseal under the desk, Naruto stealthily made a shadow clone, immediately making it Henge into a fly. He did this so quickly that no one even noticed that he made a clone. The fly flew around the room, looking for answers. Eventually, a sleepy looking brown hair man swatted it, flattening the fly against the desk with his hand. The Shadow Clone dispelled, giving all its memories, and thus the answers (along with the unconcerting sensation of being squished like a bug, literally), to Naruto.

Hinata rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, subtly activating her Byakugan behind the sleeve. Able to see in virtually all directions, she easily got the answers. She noticed several other Konoha genin cheating; Shino using his bugs, Sasuke using his Sharingan, and Kiba using Akamaru.

Kage lifted his headband back up, and started erasing certain spots on his paper, like he wanted to change his answers. He quickly filled in all the correct answers, ignoring Ibiki, who was yelling out the numbers of people who failed. "23, 104, 76, you all fail!" _He's trying to scare us…and it looks like he's doing a pretty good job._

After 45 minutes had passed, Ibiki announced, "Okay, its time for the last question. Now, there are some special rules attached to this question. If you get it wrong, you _and you teammates_ will lose the right to retake the Chunin Exam. _Forever_."

"WHAT?" Kiba roared. "There are people who have taken the test before, what kind of stupid rule is that?"

Ibiki simply chuckled. "Too bad; that was before. This year I'm in charge, and what I say goes. But I'm nice; I'll give you guys a way out. You can choose not to take it, but then your points will be reduced to zero and you and your teammates will fail. However, you will be able to take the Chunin Exam next time."

The class was in shock; people screamed about unfairness and retarded situations.

"ENOUGH!" Ibiki screamed, and the room quieted immediately. Silent looks were being shot around the classroom.

"I-I can't take it!" A dark-haired Konoha ninja said as he stood up and raised his hand. "I'm sorry, Gennai, Inoho."

"Number 50, 130, 111, fail!" Ibiki announced.

"Me too!" Another Leaf shinobi yelled, and he and his team left the room.

Kage raised an eyebrow. _A high percentage of the teams from certain countries are giving in. What do they raise, cowards?_ Looking at Naruto, he scratched the area below his right eye, like an itch. _Regardless, the more teams that forfeit, the greater the chance of having to face a friend in combat._

Naruto saw the sign for: _Act like a knucklehead._ He assumed that Kage did not want him to surrender. He raised his hand, and right before Ibiki could disqualify him, he slammed it down on the table.

"I will never give up! What kind of pussy would surrender in the very first stage? I have sworn to become the Hokage. If necessary, I will be the first to go from genin to Hokage!"

Ibiki frowned. "Your ninja career is dependent on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

"I never go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way!"

_Pffft. That's not acting. Nii-san is just being himself._

_Huh, it seems like he removed everyone else's doubts._ Ibiki thought. _There's no point in waiting any longer, no one else will give up._

"Fine. Well, to those of you still remaining…congratulations on passing the test! You see, there are times in a ninja's life when he must chose whether to go through with a mission, risking his and his teammates' lives in the process, or to give up the mission, dishonoring his village and himself. The people who don't have the guts to take a risk have no business becoming a chunin. The other nine questions were just a way to see how good you were at getting information without getting caught."

Ibiki noticed something outside the window. _Oh, hell no. Not her._ "Good luck on the next part of the Chunin Exams." _You'll need it._

Suddenly a blur crashed through the window, unfurling a large sign. _The Second Stage of the Chunin Exams! _A woman with violet hair and light-brown, pupilless eyes was standing in front of the sign. Wearing revealing clothes, she announced herself as Anko Mitarashi and that she was the proctor for the second stage.

_Huh? Does she have Hyuga blood?_ Hinata wondered, looking at the woman's pupilless eyes and oddly colored hair. Hinata subconsciously stroked her dark-blue hair. _Regardless, I don't like the way she's looking at my Kage-kun._

"78…26 teams?" Anko exclaimed to Ibiki. "The test was way too easy this time. You're loosing your touch in old age! Oh well, I'll reduce the number by more than half by the time the second stage is done. Follow me, maggots!"

* * *

"Welcome to Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death." Anko announced cheerfully. "If you're unlucky, you'll find out why."

Kage had taken his katana out and was cleaning the grooves with a kunai. **(In case you haven't noticed, he's a little neurotic about this.)**

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Hey, brat, I'm talking!"

Kage looked up in a bored fashion, staying true to his apathetic act. "Huh? Did you say something?" The crowd snickered.

Flicking a kunai out of her sleeve, Anko hurled the knife at Kage. In a burst of confusion, Anko felt momentarily disoriented as her position changed, and her own kunai cut her lower neck by a hair. (She's taller than Kage; whose cheek she aimed at.)

_What? Is this Kawarimi no Jutsu?_ Anko wondered. In a blink, Kage was behind her, holding a kunai up to her throat with his right hand. _Heh, I got cocky. I'll have to stop that; otherwise I'd be just like my bastard sensei…_

"Meh, it'd be such a pain if I got disqualified from the Chunin Exams for killing my proctor." Kage said in a bored tone as he pulled his hand away.

Feeling a presence behind him, Kage drew his katana with his left hand in a reversed fashion, making the awkward movement look practiced and graceful. Thrusting the sword behind him, Kage stopped just short of impaling a dark haired woman. This woman was holding the kunai Anko had thrown with an unnaturally long tongue.

"Sorry, I just wanted to return this…" The woman mumbled.

Anko accepted the kunai. _Damn brats, making me look bad._

"Alright, well, now I have to pass out some forms." Anko said, walking away from Kage, who sheathed his sword. She traced the cut on her neck. It was very thin, about how deep she had wanted to cut Kage.

"You guys have to sign these consent forms if you want to take the second stage of the test. This way, Konoha or I can't be held responsible for those of you who die. Anyways, let me explain this test. The second stage's purpose is to test your survival skills. You will be entering this forest; with no idea of what may await you. Now that's you've signed the waivers, don't worry about dying. If you do, the animals will take care of your corpse pretty quickly." Anko said cheerfully.

"Anyways, each team will receive a scroll; either Heaven or Earth. In the forest, you will have to battle other teams and take their scrolls. Anything goes; if necessary, you may kill your opponents. When you have a matching pair, one Heaven scroll and one Earth scroll, head to the tower in the center of the forest. Once inside, you may open both scrolls. You have 120 hours, exactly five days, to get two opposite scrolls and open them in the tower. The faster you complete this stage, the longer time you have to rest before the third and final stage begins."

Anko then pointed to a hut. "You will receive your scrolls in there. Go get your scroll, then go to the gate number you have been given.

_I see._ Hinata pondered. _Because each team will receive their scroll in the hut, the other teams can't see what scroll they have been given._

The genins waited as teams got their scrolls one by one. Finally, it was Team 7's turn. Kage, Hinata, and Naruto walked into the hut. A man handed Naruto a Heaven scroll. Suddenly, Kage poofed into smoke, and dust filled the hut.

"Hey!" The chunin who handed Naruto the scroll yelled. There was a thump, and when the dust cleared the chunin had Kage pinned to the ground by his throat.

"I'm going to assume that was an accident, and that you weren't trying to steal another scroll." The chunin hissed. Kage nodded, and the man let him up.

Brushing himself off, Kage snorted and left the hut, Naruto and Hinata following close behind.

* * *

"It is 9:00 PM. Let the second stage of the Chunin exams begin!"

After several minutes of travelling, Kage signaled for Naruto and Hinata to take a break.

"What's going on, Kage?" Naruto asked. "How'd you get caught? You've hidden an inch away from ANBU and never even been noticed."

Kage smirked. "I let myself get caught. He reached inside his vest and pulled out a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Naruto and Hinata gasped.

"But K-Kage-kun, how?" Hinata asked in shock.

"When the second proctor threw a kunai at me, I used Kawarimi no Jutsu to put myself in her place and Anko in mine. But then how did I appear behind her with a kunai at her throat when we were almost 50 feet away from each other? I actually created a Kage Bushin a split second before using Replacement, and no one noticed the real me in Anko's position; they were all looking at Anko and the clone. I noticed the suspicious hut, which no one was in at the time, and hid on the ceiling while my clone pretended to be the real me. After a while, people came in and were given one of two types of scrolls. Even without my shadow clone's knowledge, I deduced that the scrolls were important to the second stage of the test. Using Kawarimi no Jutsu a couple of more times, I was able to switch out a couple of peoples' scrolls the instant before they stowed it away. Then, when you two and my clone walked in, I dispelled the clone, creating a smoke cover, and let myself fall to the floor. I had to do that, or else I would have had to reveal myself when another team was there. The longer I waited, the higher the chance someone would accidentally look up and see me. This way, the chunin thought I was about to try something; he didn't know that I had been there the whole time."

Kage put the two scrolls back into his vest. "Let's head to the tower."

Naruto and Hinata nodded, closing their open mouths.

_Kage-kimi hides his chakra really well! _Hinata thought. _What does such a skilled guy like him see in a girl like me?_

"Brilliant!" Naruto commented. "Fine, I'll just go take a leak and then we'll be on our way." Both Kage and Hinata rolled their eyes at Naruto's blunt choice of words.

The instant Naruto was out of sight, Hinata and Kage's lips met as they kissed. Breaking apart, Kage fiddled with Hinata's dark-blue hair as she rested her head on his chest.

"Hmm, I was worried I was going to go through Hinata-withdrawal." Kage murmured. "Sometime after this Chunin Exam, how about you and me— MOVE!"

Kage forcibly shoved Hinata to the side as a giant snake smashed down where they were standing. Quickly stepping to the side, Kage ripped out his sword and plunged it into the snake. He dashed down the length of the snake and cut a gigantic, long gash, killing the creature.

"Kukukukuku… so, the Hyuga princess has a forbidden lover, does she?" A woman stepped out of the shadows. It was the same woman who had handed the kunai back to Anko. "Let's play a little game I like to call: Life or Death…"

* * *

_You have to be kidding me!_ Naruto complained mentally. _Swallowed while taking a piss? By a giant snake, no less. That's like, sacred! You do not interrupt a man while he's taking a piss! _

"Tajuu Ka—umph!" Naruto closed his mouth as the snake's digested juices threatened to enter his mouth. Regardless, Naruto formed the seal and created hundreds of shadow clones. The snake began to swell, until finally it burst, sending stomach acid, giant scales, and Narutos everywhere.

"Gotta get back to Kage and Hinata!"

* * *

_This KI is incredibly strong!_ Kage thought as he rolled to the side. _Damn it, I need to get closer to my Hime; we much more effective as a team than individuals._

_I can't die here!_ Hinata thought with determination. _But he keeps on summoning more snakes!_

"**Leave them alone!"** Naruto yelled as he bounded into the clearing, his red eyes slitted and a single youkai tail trailing behind him.

"Fuuton: Tei Dangan **(Wind Release: Air Shot)**!" Naruto spat a ball of air, so concentrated its appearance was distorted, at the giant snake. It punched a hole clean through the reptile, and it died, dispelling itself in a cloud of smoke.

_What? It's only C-rank ninjutsu, it shouldn't be that strong._ Kage thought. _He must be using youkai to power it!_

_Hmm, so the Kyuubi brat has learned to use his prisoner's chakra._ The snake woman thought. She dashed in front of Naruto and slammed all five fingers on one hand into the blonde boy's stomach, her fingers glowing an unearthly purple.

"Gogyo Fuin **(Five Element Seal)**!"

Naruto cried out in pain, and his chakra coat disappeared with incredible swiftness. The woman callously tossed Naruto to the side, his unconscious body rolling to a stop.

"Kage Hebi Mure **(Shadow Snake Swarm)**!" The woman called, pointed two fists at Kage. Hundreds of various snakes shot out at all swarmed at Kage with lethal intent. Kage cursed, slipping a kunai into his left hand. He saw snakes ranging from small poisonous mambas to massive constrictors.

_Something's wrong…_ Kage thought. _I don't think this is a regular genin…but then again, neither are we. But this woman has practically mastered the Summoning Jutsu, to be able to call such a variety of snakes. And what was that seal she put on Naruto-nii-san? I have a bad feeling that it has something to do with the Kyuubi's seal, judging from the way Naruto's youkai suddenly vanished._

The black haired boy jumped backwards onto better terrain for fighting. _I don't want to use my Kokugan just yet, and sprouting my wings is definitely out of the question with the low branch level and high foilage. Hinata-chan, be safe…_

"Kukukuku." The woman laughed when Hinata seemed relatively unfazed by the KI she was releasing. Oh, Hinata was definitely freaked out, but that had more to do with one of her friends being unconscious, her boyfriend fighting off a massive horde of snakes, and herself facing an opponent whose abilities were mostly unknown. Regardless, she activated her Byakugan and settled into a Juken stance.

_It seems that Kabuto-kun's information was somewhat misleading…I should take my time to evaluate her abilities._ The snake summoner thought. _I have some time to burn until I go mark Sasuke-kun._

The woman charged Hinata, engaging the heiress in a flurry of punches and kicks. Hinata found herself pushed to her limits as she was forced to block and avoid, often getting strikes in on her own. However, her opponent seemed to twist just the right way the instant before Hinata's strikes made contact, causing her to miss the miniscule tenketsu by millimeters

_This isn't working._ Hinata noted, and switched to Baguazhang, the Juken variant that Kage and Naruto had taught her so long ago. She continued her onslaught on the woman. Even though her strikes were slightly slower, Hinata finally landed a solid punch to the woman's sternum, even though she curled back to reduce the impact.

The woman grabbed at her chest, feeling slightly numb. _What? She should have missed the tenketsu…I see. Instead of using only the tips of her fingers, Hinata-chan released chakra throughout the entire surface area of her knuckles when she hit me, so I was unable to move the my tenketsu out of the affected area._

Hinata switched back into a Juken stance. "You are within my field of divination. Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

The woman collapsed to the ground. Hinata set her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "It's over."

* * *

Kage yanked his hand back, a snake's fang lightly touching the veins in his wrist, but fortunately not breaking the skin. With a quick rising chop, the dragon hanyou beheaded the snake in an instant with his kunai. _I can't keep this up without activating my Kokugan if I keep fighting like this…of course!_

Spinning in a circle, Kage cut a uniform swath of snake corpses in a sword length's radius, buying him a few seconds. He quickly put the kunai away and held onto his katana by slipping his wrist around the red tassel, which he had formerly used as a headband before he became a genin. With his hands free, Kage quickly blurred through the same handseals that he had used on Kabuto's cards, but he didn't hold back his chakra this time.

"Katon: Houka Ryuusei **(Fire Release: Fire Stream)**!" Turning in a circle, Kage blew flames all around him. Simple creatures, the snakes failed to react before they were burn and sizzled to ashes. Kage gradually decreased the size of the flame; otherwise he would risk pulling the fire into his own throat. He didn't want to test his resistance to heat in such an intimate manner. Kage looked over at his girlfriend. _Good, looks like my Hime—_"Look out, Hinata-chan!" Kage called out.

* * *

_Wait a minute…_Hinata looked at her opponent's body in detail for the first time since she had collapsed. _It's a mud clone!_

"Look out, Hinata-chan!" She heard her boyfriend call out.

"Sen'eijashu **(Striking Shadow Snakes)**!" A voice yelled, and before Hinata could react, multiple snakes wound around her wrists and ankles, immobilizing her with extreme constricting pressure.

"Kukukuku, it looks like I made a good choice. I had no idea that you would be so skilled in Juken at such an early age." The woman said from atop a tree branch, her voice gradually turning more masculine. "My name is Orochimaru. If you wish to gain more power; to never be called weak or useless again, you will seek me out."

"Never!" Hinata gasped, recognizing the name of the Snake Sanin, traitor to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"I think you will, kukukuku." Orochimaru laughed. "One you have a taste of true power, you will seek out more." He made a handseal, and his neck stretched towards Hinata at impossible lengths. Orochimaru bit her on the right side of her neck.

"Teme **(Bastard)**!" In an instant, Kage slashed at Orochimaru's exposed neck with his katana. Orochimaru quickly pulled back to avoid being beheaded. _I didn't manage to give her a full dose of Jugo's enzyme, but I certainly gave her enough for the Curse Mark to form…if she lives. Oh well, more for Sasuke-kun._

"Kukukuku. I will see you later, Hinata-chan…" _Now, to go mark Sasuke-kun. If they both live, I will have the perfect opportunity to see what a mix of the Sharingan and Byakugan turns out like…_ Orochimaru sank into the branch of the tree, and disappeared.

Hinata cried out in pure agony. "Hinata!" Kage quickly killed the snakes wrapped around Hinata, and she fell to her knees. "Hold on, my Hime."

Kage's dark brown eyes narrowed in concern as a strange seal began to form at the place where Hinata was bitten. A Yin-Yang symbol began to form as Hinata trembled, pain running like fire through every part of her body. Each dot of the symbol was centered on the two puncture marks where Orochimaru's fangs had bitten Hinata. However, Kage could see that the seal was failing to manifest correctly; the seal would fade from transparent back to solid, and the curves were not smooth, but jagged.

"**Hatchling, if you want her to live, do as I say!"** Kage reeled from the sudden voice in his head, unused to being communicated to in such a manner. _Fine, what do I need to do?_

"**Remove the agent that is causing the seal to form, and erase the amount of seal that has formed."** Ryu Oni replied casually.

_HOW?_ Kage screamed mentally.

"**Beats me. You'll have to figure that out on your own."**

Hinata groaned in pain, breaking Kage's heart. Her hands clenched erratically, and her muscles spasmed. "Kokugan!" Kage saw that there was some sort of biological liquid was in the fang wound, and that it was leaking a form of purple, synthetic youkai into Hinata's chakra coils. Hinata's chakra coils were reacting badly to the odd chakra, causing her current state.

_Damn it…_Kage thought, getting an idea. _I don't know if it will work or not._

"Kage-kun." Hinata whimpered as she collapsed to the ground. "Make i-it stop, p-please!"

"As you command, my Hime." Kage said in a calming tone, taking out a kunai and slitting his pinky finger. Fortunately, Hinata passed out from the pain. _Hopefully, when Hinata-hime wakes up she won't be in any more pain…_

Kage let a single drop of blood fall on each puncture mark. As he had hoped, his half-dragon blood denatured the enzyme. Using the Kokugan, Kage saw that the purplish chakra was still warring with Hinata's chakra coils. Kage gulped. _If I do this, I have no idea what may happen, and Hinata-chan may die. But if I do nothing, she will die for sure._

_Forgive me, my Hime…_ Using his second and third fingers, Kage placed one finger each on each fang wound, channeled youkai, and tried to erase the powerful synthetic youkai with the more potent youkai of his own.

* * *

_A little while later..._

Orochimaru laughed as he activated Anko's cursed seal, immobilizing her with pain.

"You…you're here to assassinate Sandaime-sama, aren't you?" Anko fell to her knees, unused to such incredibly high levels of pain.

"Oh, not yet." Orochimaru commented offhandedly. "I thought I'd recruit a few kids from this village, though. I gave them the Cursed Seal. Unlike you, they are both talented." _A __Although the Uchiha's cowardice was less than encouraging; it took his Inuzuka teammate's goading to make him fight. No matter, if he becomes my host then my superior personality will overshadow his._ "One carries the Uchiha blood; his darkness and hatred will draw him to me like a moth to a flame. The other is of the Hyuga lineage; her feelings of uselessness and helplessness will overcome her; I made sure of that by crushing both of her kneecaps. Looking for a purpose in her meaningless life, she will seek me out, desperate for more of kind of power that only I can give. Even though there's only a ten percent chance of survival, I have the feeling that both will live."

"Things will get interesting soon. Please don't try to stop the Chunin Exams, I would hate to have to advance my schedule, destroying Konoha in the process. Later, Anko-chan…" Orochimaru disappeared.

* * *

Hinata cried out as her father backhanded her in the family dojo. "Hmph. Worthless. The Hyuga Clan burns with shame."

"F-Father…" Hinata stammered from the floor. She held a hand to her cheek, trying to alleviate the pain of the bruising skin. "H-How can I m-make you proud?" _No matter how hard i try, how good I do, it's never enough. I'm useless._

"You can _die_!" Hiashi roared as he lunged to strike Hinata's heart.

Abruptly, the scene changed to Naruto and Kage's living room, decorated with birthday signs and such.

"Here's your present, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said.

Hinata opened the box, and a purple gas came out, choking Hinata with poison. "W-Why, Naruto-kun?" She fell to the ground, coughing and hacking vigorously.

"You're taking up a spot on our team, when we could have someone with actual skills." Naruto hissed. "Now do us all a favor, and _die!_" _Even Naruto thinks I'm worthless. Maybe Team 7 would be better off without me..._

Hinata's vision blacked out, and when she next came to she was in exquisite agony. She saw Kage hovering over her, concerned. "Kage-kun." Hinata whimpered as she collapsed to the ground. "Make i-it stop, p-please!"

"As you command, my Hime." Kage replied, taking out a kunai. He plunged the blade into Hinata, and she cried out in pain. Her boyfriend pulled out the kunai and stabbed her again, once again in a non-lethal spot.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh." Kage cooed. "Don't worry, the pain will end as soon as you _die._"

Hinata screamed and pushed her boyfriend away, getting up and running for all she was worth, tears streaming from her eyes. _No! Not, Not Kage-kun! That wasn't Kage-kimi!_ Hinata told herself. _Kimi doesn't think I'm worthless...right? But...what if he's just lying to me, to save my feelings? What if deep down, Kage really is disgusted with me?_

That thought was more painful than stab wounds, stopped hearts, or lung-choking poison gas. Hinata didn't know far she ran, or for how long, but eventually she fell to her knees, out of breath.

"No one wants us…" A voice hissed. Hinata looked up. _It's…me!_

"We are worthless, for we do not have power…" This Hinata had her hair short, the way Hinata had used to wear her hair.

"If we had power…no one would dare call us worthless…" The sadistic Hinata whispered. "We must sever our bonds, and gain more power…"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hinata yelled.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he woke up. "Uuuuuuuhhhh. Did I eat too much ramen last night?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Wait, we're in the Chunin Exams! There was that one woman and…Hinata, Kage!" The blonde shot to his feet, but saw his teammates off to the side.

He saw the look of concentration upon Kage's face, and realized he was channeling youkai. Naruto knew what it feels like, since he had youkai also. Where Kage's fingers were, what appeared to be the head of an ink dragon was starting to form at Hinata's neck. As the dragon became a solid black, Kage's pure black eyes shot open.

"How do you feel, nii-san?" Kage asked as he checked Hinata's chakra coils. All the synthetic youkai had been purged…but why was there a seal in the form of a dragon on Hinata's back? There were no discernable symbols, so Kage had no clue.

"Crappy." Naruto replied. "I feel sore all over."

Kage picked Hinata up in a bridal position as he checked her pulse. It was beating quickly, but strongly and steadily. He nodded his head to Naruto. "Let's get to the tower before any more shit happens. I'll tell you what you missed on the way there."

* * *

Hinata ran away from her younger image, and bumped into Kage, still holding a bloody kunai. Unprepared, Hinata fell backwards to the ground once more. This time, Kage offered Hinata his hand, the one without a weapon in it.

"Stay away from him!" Hinata's younger image hissed. "He'll kill us!"

"Do you trust me, my Hime?" Kage asked.

Hinata looked at him, then at her darker image, then back to Kage. Her stab wounds burned painfully as she was caught between two decisions. Finally, Hinata made her choice.

Hinata took Kage's hand. "Yes, my Kimi."

After helping Hinata to her feet, Kage bent down and set one arm around her legs and another around her back, picking her up into a bridal position. He turned away from the younger image of Hinata and began to walk.

"No! Get back here!" The darker Hinata yelled. Hinata ignored her as she wrapped her arms around Kage's neck. Her surroundings began to glow, and all was encompassed in a white light.

* * *

Kage had just finished explaining what had happened to Naruto. Jumping from tree to tree, Kage stiffened as Hinata suddenly woke up. She looked around in panic before her lavender eyes met Kage's dark brown eyes, and she relaxed and fell into a natural sleep.

Kage subtly held Hinata a little closer. As they approached the tower, there was a door, and Team 7 entered. There was a giant sign on the wall inside the room. Naruto quickly read it.

"It looks like we should open both scrolls, now." Naruto commented as he made a shadow clone.

Kage nodded and tossed an Earth Scroll to Naruto's clone, keeping one arm wrapped around Hinata. _I think I'm touching her ass!_ Kage thought with mixed feelings of happiness, excitement, and guilt. Trying to distract himself, Kage took out the extra Heaven Scroll and set it on fire with chakra.

Naruto and his clone opened the scrolls at the same time. Kage recognized the type of seals on the inside of the scroll. "Throw it, now!" He ordered.

The two Narutos obeyed, and tossed the scrolls in front of them. In an instant, the scrolls burst into smoke. When the smoke cleared, Iruka appeared.

_Huh?_ Iruka thought. _That was quick. _"Well, it looks like you three passed the second stage with flying colors. By the way, this is what the scrolls say: 'If qualities of Heaven are what you desire, seek to raise the power of your mind higher and higher. If qualities of Earth are what makes you entranced, forge your body to strike like a lance.' Basically, it means that if your weakness is intelligence, work harder and study to become smarter, but if you are lacking strength, train and become physically stronger. Well, you have almost five full days to rest until the third stage of the Chunin Exams begins. Your room will be 101, 102, and 103."

Iruka tossed Naruto a ring with three key and disappeared.

* * *

"WHAT?" Anko snapped. "We're in the middle of an important meeting!"

The offending chunin held up a video tape. "You need to see this!" He quickly inserted the tape into a VCR attached to a TV. A picture of a red-headed boy with a gourd on his back appeared.

"Look at the time! This is a recording of the second test." The chunin said. "These three passed the test in 97 minutes!"

Anko gasped. "What? The old record was four hours! Friggin' Suna-nin..."

"That's not all…huh? Oh, my bad." The chunin rewound the tape and played it again, this time from the beginning instead of the middle.

The video started playing, showing Kakashi Hayate's team, Team 7 of Konoha, entering the tower. Even if Anko hadn't recognized the boy at whom she had thrown a kunai, the Hyuga's eyes and the blonde boy's whiskers left no doubt as to their identity.

"Im-Im-Impossible!" Anko said, looking at the time stamp. "That can't possibly be right!"

The chunin nodded seriously. "It is. 53 minutes, 23 seconds."

Anko's jaw dropped enough for one of Orochimaru's giant snakes to fit in. _Impossible! But the Hyuga girl on that team…that's the one my bastard sensei is interested in, isn't it?_

* * *

_Next day…_

Hinata slowly woke up and looked around. She was in an unfamiliar bed. _What? Where am I?_

"Hinata-hime…" She heard Kage say softly, and she sat up and looked to the side. In a reclining chair, Kage was sleeping somewhat uncomfortably. Hinata giggled. Naruto was right; Kage _did _talk in his sleep.

Hinata paused as she processed the memories of the previous day. She realized that the scenes she had seen after she had been bitten were simply dreams. Unconsciously, she reached back to touch her neck, feeling two dried beads of blood. Hinata shivered. _I don't feel the malevolent feeling anymore…why?_

Hinata shook her head. She'd just ask Kage. Hinata silently swung her legs over the side of the bed, being careful to not wake Kage. Quietly, she tiptoed up to her sleeping boyfriend. Abruptly, Hinata pounced, sitting on his warm lap and kissing him passionately.

With a heavy _mmmmpph_, Kage woke up to find his girlfriend kissing him. He eagerly kissed back, entranced with the softness of Hinata's lips.

"Not that I'm complaining whatsoever…" Kage said as they broke apart. "…but where did that come from?"

Hinata shrugged, and Kage ran a hand through her dark blue locks. "I don't know. I j-just felt like it, I guess."

Kage grinned. _I can just be myself around her_. "That's more than enough reason, Hinata-chan." He leaned in and kissed her again.

Hinata felt her breathing quicken, and pulled away, adjusting her position so she was more comfortable in Kage's feverish embrace. "Kage-kimi, what happened after I passed out?"

"Not much. We got to the tower, opened the scrolls, and passed. Then we each got our own separate room, and I, um…" Kage blushed. "…changed you into clean clothes. After that, I tucked you in, did my own nightly routine, and made a shadow clone to go into my room, and fell asleep here on the couch, in case you woke up and needed anything. I didn't try anything funny, I swear!"

Hinata blushed. _He saw me in only panties and a bra! Oh, I guess that's not too bad…he saw me in my bikini, that's almost the same thing…_ "I b-believe you, Kage-kun." _Kage-kimi tucked me in, and fell asleep by my side? That's so sweet!_

Kage looked to the side. _Eh heh heh. Actually, after I changed Hinata I got a massive nosebleed. I was barely able to clean it up and sit in the chair before I passed out from blood loss._ "So right now, my shadow clone and Naruto are scoping out the other contestants who passed. Naruto doesn't know it's a shadow clone; he thinks I went into my own room. So how are you feeling, Hime?"

Hinata giggled at the way Kage said her pet name. "Surprisingly well, K-Kimi. I'm rather sore, and my right calf aches something fierce. What happened when O-Orochimaru bit me? I felt a really evil presence, but it's gone now."

Kage sighed. "Um, about that. Well, the Curse Mark is gone; you were reacting badly to it so I had to…remove it, sort of. Uh, you can go check in the mirror. It's kind of hard to explain with words."

Hinata got up and did so, walking to the bathroom with a limp. Closing the door for her own privacy, Hinata took off her black shirt. Turning around, Hinata lifted her long blue hair out of the way, and she gasped when she saw her reflection in the mirror. From the right side of the back of her neck to the middle left side of her back, Hinata had a black dragon tattoo inked into her skin with intricate detail. The resolution was amazing, each scale of the dragon seemed to be done individually. Hinata realized it was not a tattoo, but a seal. But there were no individual symbols, were there?

Hinata put her shirt back on and walked back to an abashed Kage.

"Orochimaru injected you with some sort of biological liquid." Kage explained. "The liquid was forcing some sort of purple, synthetic chakra into your chakra coils, and you were reacting badly to it, like an extreme allergic reaction. I dripped a drop of blood into each fang wound, and my non-human blood denatured the enzyme, and your body seemed to not react against my blood. However, there was still some of that weird chakra in your chakra coils, so I was forced to channel a bit of my own youkai into the half-formed Curse Mark to erase the source of the purple chakra. At first, I thought only the head of the dragon appeared, since your jacket covers your body, but when I changed you I realized the dragon stretched quite a bit down."

Kage looked down in disappointment. "Also, I think I may have seen a hairline fracture in your right tibia with my Kokugan. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you better." _I feel far more than simple disappointment. What is it I feel when I look at Hinata-chan?_

Hinata stepped forwards and wrapped Kage in a hug. "No, Kage-kun. I'm sure that w-without the seals you put on my p-pants the damage would have been much worse. Besides, it's my fault for being so w-weak; maybe if I were s-stronger, I wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Kage looked at her with disbelieving wide eyes. "You, weak?" He asked, confused. "Hinata, you faced off against one of the legendary Sanin, and considered by some to be the most powerful of the three! Granted, Orochimaru-teme probably wasn't using his full strength, but you obviously impressed him with your power! Sadistic and insane he may be, but Orochimaru is no idiot. Anyone who thinks you are weak is a fool. Hinata-hime, promise me you will never call yourself weak, ever again." He begged.

"B-but, Kage-kun…"

"Promise me." His dark brown eyes seemed to stare into her very depths, and Hinata felt her knees weaken, but not because of any injury.

"I promise."

* * *

_Third day since the start of the second stage…_

Naruto and Kage (who was actually a shadow clone) idly watched to see if any other teams made it. On the first day, the only other team to pass was the team from Suna, apparently only several minutes after Team 7 had.

The second day, Team Guy had passed the second stage. At that time, Naruto was in the bathroom, leaving Kage's shadow clone to greet Lee and his team.

* * *

_Second day…_

"Yosh, when did you get here, my eternal rival?" Lee asked.

"Less than one hour into the test." Kage replied, scanning over Lee's two teammates for strengths and weaknesses. The boy was definitely Neji Hyuga, last year's Rookie of the Year. Honestly, he looked like he had a tree stuck up his ass, and it was still growing. The other was a girl with a variety of scrolls, leading Kage to suspect she was a weapons specialist or a seals specialist. She had the look of one who was usually carefree, but could turn serious in an instant.

Kage nodded to the girl. "Greetings. My name is Kage. And you are Miss…" He trailed off, offering her a hand.

Tenten raised an eyebrow. _He's kind of good looking, and polite, too._ "Tenten. A pleasure to meet you, Kage-san." She shook his hand.

Kage nodded. "And you as well. Hmmmmmm. You use a naginata often, yes? I can tell by the calluses on your hand that you are used to wielding a staff-like weapon, and a bo staff would be a highly unconventional choice for a ninja."

Tenten smirked. _Oh, he's good._ "Yes. And you use a katana often, as well."

Kage gave her a small smile of recognition. This shadow clone had left his katana back in the room. "Quite perceptive. I think I'd like to face you in a weapons-only match, one day. Now, if you'd excuse me, I believe my teammate has gotten lost on the way back from the bathroom." He lied. Kage turned and walked away.

"And there goes the enigma that is my nii-san." Naruto commented dryly, wondering why Kage had lied so suddenly in order to leave. _Why does Lee smell like squirrel, charred flesh, and blood? _"You guys should probably go get some rest. The next stage won't start for a few more days."

Tenten felt a little bit hot. _He's not a chauvinistic pig at all, unlike some of the guys I know. I think I would like to spar with him. Too bad for him that the naginata isn't the only weapon I use…just the only melee weapon I use. Then again, he's a close-combat fighter too, so I wouldn't be able to use Twin Rising Dragons, or even most thrown weapons once he got close._

_End flashback_

* * *

"So…read any good books, lately?" Naruto asked.

Kage snorted. "That had to be the worst attempt at small talk I've ever heard. In fact— oh wait, there's Team 8."

The two surrogate brothers watched as Sakura and Kiba each opened a scroll, passing the second stage. As the team left to go to their respective rooms, Kage and Naruto caught up with Shino.

"Yo Shino, you guys look like shit. What happened?" Naruto asked.

"An odd woman who had the ability to summon snakes of all shapes and sizes attacked us. Sakura and Sasuke froze, but Kiba, Akamaru, and I fought. Eventually, I was bitten and I was paralyzed. Kiba was disgusted with Sasuke, and said something about Sasuke's mother, which I do not care to repeat. The woman then knocked Kiba unconscious, and was about to kill Akamaru when Sasuke finally attacked the woman. He was able to trap her with wire, and burned her with a katon. She was unaffected, though, and suddenly revealed herself to be Orochimaru. Stretching his neck out, he bit Sasuke, giving him an odd three-tomoe mark. Sasuke then fell unconscious." Shino explained.

"Sakura then took care of us for the night. Around dawn of the next day, the three ninja from sound attacked. At this point, I was still paralyzed though conscious, and Kiba and Sasuke were still unconscious. Lee appeared and was able to hold them off for a while, before Sakura was able to draw blood from one of them. Another of the sound ninja quickly disabled her, though. After that, Team Ten intervened for a short period of time, and Ino was able to posses the girl from Otokagure. However, one of the girl's teammates hit her with a concentrated blast of air, injuring her and rendering her useless. Around then, Sasuke woke up, an odd aura of purple chakra surrounding him. He dislocated an arm of one of the Sound nin, and the other surrendered, giving us the scroll we needed. Then, we came here."

Kage raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm. Do you get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?"

Shino nodded. "I have. For Orochimaru of the Sannin to show up now is most troubling.

"At a time when ninjas from all countries are present, along with nobles of various families." Naruto completed. "It could become a diplomatic fiasco. A multi-nation war could be started by accident. If someone has actually planned something to happen during the Chunin Exams, it could be the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War."

"Well, whatever the problem is, I'm sure Hokage-sama is dealing with it." Naruto and Kage barely had time to turn around before they were pinned to the wall by their throats by the proctor from the second exam.

"Do you get off on giving other people pain?" Kage asked calmly, because he knew he couldn't be truly harmed, as a shadow clone.

Anko tilted her head. "Actually, yes. Anyways, Hokage-sama would like to see your team; your teammates Curse Mark needs to be taken care of."

Kage and Naruto looked at each other somewhat guiltily. _Oh shit!_ Kage thought. _How do I explain how the Curse Mark was altered._

"Um, I'll see you in the Hokage's office, nii-san." Kage said quickly. "Okay, bye!" He dispelled himself in a cloud of smoke.

Anko and Naruto blinked. _Shadow clone? It must have been a Kage Bushin the entire time._

Anko growled and picked Naruto up by his collar. "You're coming with me, brat."

Shino blinked behind his sunglasses, completely nonplussed.

* * *

"Unfortunately, you can't get any medical help from anyone not on your team during the time between the second and third stages." Kage noted. "So we can't get your leg healed. We can only splint it, and hope for the best."

"It's okay, Kage-kun." Hinata said as Kage wrapped the bandages around her lower leg.

When he was finished, Kage pulled Hinata's right pant leg down so that the bandages were hidden.

Moving up, Kage looked at the dragon's head on the back of Hinata's neck. Tentatively, he gently kissed the back of her neck, noticing the way she stiffened. _So Hinata-hime likes it when I kiss her neck, huh?_ Laughing softly, Kage gently started suckling on the back of Hinata's neck, pleased by the soft moan she tried to hold in.

Suddenly, he winced. "Damn. We have to meet the Hokage ASAP." He explained after receiving the memories from his shadow clone.

Kage helped a very red Hinata back to her feet, and she gingerly put her weight onto her injured leg. Together, they left the room and walked off to their destination. Sadly, they still had to keep up their façade and walked separately.

* * *

Entering the room, Kage and Hinata saw that the Sandaime, Kakashi, Anko, and Naruto were all in the room.

"Hello, Hinata, Kage." Sarutobi said. "I'm sure you'd like an explanation for everything that has happened—"

"We already know, old man." Naruto suddenly spoke up. "Orochimaru believes that giving Hinata the Curse Mark will make her addicted to power, and that she will seek him out later."

Hiruzen sighed. "Essentially, yes. Unfortunately, such power is like a drug: addictive and harmful, in the long term. This is why I want Kakashi to suppress Hinata's Curse Mark, like he has already done with Sasuke."

"Ano, the C-Curse Mark is…" Hinata paused. "N-No longer an i-issue. Kage fixed it."

_Oh, shit! What do I say? How can I explain what I did without giving anything away? I'll just have to lie._ Kage did not miss Anko's reaction to Hinata's words; she looked like she had just been told that water could be breathed or that a mother's milk was poisonous to her child.

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow. "Your trust and confidence in your teammate is laudable, Hinata, but this is a serious matter. The Curse Mark is no ordinary seal."

Kage looked down, his brain frantically whirling. "Um…the Curse Mark is no longer there."

Everyone was shocked; even the inflapable Kakashi looked surprised.

"What?"

"WHAT?" Anko screamed as she tackled Kage to the ground, holding a kunai to his throat.

"Anko, get off my student!" Kakashi demanded.

"No! No one has been able to remove the Curse Mark forcibly, not even you, Hokage-sama. Besides, this boy has a dark chakra as well, like the Curse Mark. For all we know, he could be with Orochimaru." She demanded. "Tell me, now!

"Anko, Kage can be trusted." The Hokage said soothingly. "Get off of the boy, perhaps he has found a way to remove the Curse Mark, after all." Anko grudgingly obeyed.

"Well, how'd you do it, brat?" Anko spat. "Did you kiss it better?"

Kage got back to his feet. _Okay, that's a coming a little bit too close to our relationship._ "No, I put a Band-Aid over it." He said sarcastically.

"Actually, the Curse Mark was not forming correctly on Hinata, and was extremely unstable, causing her condition. As any seal master knows, the more powerful a seal, the stronger the backlash it causes if it collapses. I deliberately imploded the seal, which would ordinarily send a pulse of power through Hinata's body killing her. However, I was able to channel the power into a physical form." _Okay, here comes the shady part. _Kage thought with a mental wince. "The power, and thus the image, basically took the form of whatever I was thinking about…which happened to be a dragon."

Everyone in the room sweatdropped. _WTF, seriously?_ Luckily, ninja were known to be rather eccentric, and all of the adult ninja present own had their own eccentricities (porn, weed, and sex/sake/dango), so the adults let it pass.

"As for what Anko senses…" _Anko must have been exposed to youkai, or synthetic youkai, fairly often in order to be able to sense it._ "Well, right after Hinata had been bitten, I had to suck the poison out of the wound, as if it were from an ordinary snake bite. It is possible that I ingested some of the enzyme, myself. This could be why Anko senses something within me."

The Hokage nodded. "So you could not, oh, say…remove a Curse Mark that has already stabilized?" Anko asked casually, now suspiciously calm.

Kage shook his head, believing she was talking about Sasuke. "No. By now, his Curse Mark has probably already settled into his chakra coils. Besides, Kakashi being able to suppress the mark proves it. If it wasn't already stabilized, trying to suppress it would most likely implode the seal. Even if it were possible, I'm not going to suck on Sas-_gay_'s neck, regardless of how much he would enjoy it." _Ooops. Did I just imply that I sucked on Hinata's neck, and she liked it?_ Kage worried.

Anko nodded sadly. _She wasn't asking about Sasuke, was she?_ Naruto realized, being more perceptive about people than Kage or Hinata. _She was talking about herself._

"I see. Well, you can return to whatever you were doing." The Hokage said. "Kakashi will escort you out."

Kakashi looked up from his Icha Icha book. "What? I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, did you say something?"

* * *

_Fifth day…_

Naruto, Kage, and Hinata were still watching on to see what other teams made it.

"The team from Sound is approaching." Hinata said, her Byakugan eyes activated.

Kage watched in interest. The sole girl on the team had long, midnight black hair. The way she was walking suggested that she had slight internal injuries. The taller boy on the team had one arm in a sling. The hunch-backed guy seemed to be the least injured.

_Hmm. So this is the team Shino was talking about._ Kage thought. He jumped down into the hallway, Hinata and Naruto following him. Without needed to discuss it, they naturally fell into delta formation, a triangle with Kage leading point.

The Oto team faced them. The girl with long black hair met Kage's eyes. Her own eyes widened, and she stumbled, falling forwards. Instinctively, Kage held his hands out in front of him. Catching her by the shoulders, Kage stopped her from falling to the ground.

"Meh, I know I'm sexy." He joked. "But there's no reason to be falling over me. Name's Kage. You?"

The girl blushed. _Well, shit if she isn't attracted to me._ Kage thought. "Tsuchi Kin. Nice to meet you." She said, hurriedly walking past Team 7, her teammates following close behind.

_Is it me, or does any girl I meet automatically become my fangirl?_ Kage wondered.

"**You are releasing hormones that make females subconsciously realize that you are a male who is ready, or almost ready, to mate. Don't worry; it doesn't make them do anything they wouldn't already do, just see you as a healthy male specimen."**

Kage grabbed his head. _Damn it, that hurt! Can you speak, or think, whichever one it is, a little quieter? Anyways, what's up with the mark Hinata-chan has? I have a bad feeling that you have something to do with it._

"**No."**

_That hurt too! And what do you mean, "No"? What about Hinata's mark?_

There was no response. Kage snapped back into reality. "Just arguing with the voice in my head." He said casually. Naruto and Hinata nodded, understanding the hidden meaning.

* * *

"Congratulations on passing the second stage of the Chunin Exams." The Hokage said to the teams that had passed.

"Forehead Girl, I'm surprised you and Sasuke finally made it." Ino whispered tauntingly to Sakura. "Shino and Kiba must have been doing all the work. You're obviously useless, and Sasuke is even worse than you."

"Shut up, Ino-buta!" Sakura hissed back, causing all the genin to look at her. "No one is better than Sasuke-kun!"

"Pffft. Kage-kun passed in under an hour. It took you and your precious Sas-gay-kun three days."

"Shanaro! No one makes fun of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura tackled Ino to the floor, and they rolled around pulling each others hair.

_Are those two for real?_ Hiruzen wondered, sweatdropping along with everyone else as Kiba and Shikamaru pulled the two away.

"Erm, anyways…" Sarutobi quickly explained how the Chunin Exams were a substitute for war, allowing the villages to prove their strengths without incurring mass casualties. It was also a way to attract clients. Meanwhile, several ninja dropped out, claiming to be too injured to participate. The Hokage introduced Gekko Hayate, a sickly looking man who would be the proctor for the third stage preliminaries.

There was a chorus of "Konichiwa, Hayate-san" from the competitors, except from Kage, who said "Konichiwa, Gekko-sensei. How is Yugao-sensei?"

"What!" Everyone shouted. "You know each other?"

Gekko nodded, coughing. "Yes, my erm— friend and *cough cough* I taught Kage *cough* some kenjutsu. Don't worry *cough* it won't make me *cough* biased in the finals. Yugao-ch…Yugao was pleased by your suggestion."

"Anyways, the first match: Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi!"

* * *

**Omake-**

Naruto, Kage, and Hinata were still watching on to see what other teams made it.

"The team from Sound is approaching." Hinata said, her Byakugan eyes activated.

Kage watched in interest. The sole girl on the team had long, midnight black hair. The way she was walking suggested that she had slight internal injuries. The taller boy on the team had one arm in a sling. The hunch-backed guy seemed to be the least injured.

_Hmm. So this is the team Shino was talking about._ Kage thought. He jumped down into the hallway, Hinata and Naruto following him. Without needed to discuss it, they naturally fell into delta formation, a triangle with Kage leading point.

The Oto team faced them. The girl with long black hair met Kage's eyes. Her own eyes widened, and she stumbled, falling forwards. Instinctively, Kage held his hands out in front of him. By sheer coincidence, or perhaps bad luck, his hands ended up on her breasts.

Looking from the girl's angry eyes to Hinata's furious eyes, Kage paled. Dosu, Zaku, and Naruto whistled and looked away, trying to look inconspicuous.

"Eh heh heh heh…I'm fucked, aren't I?" Kage asked. He looked pleadingly at Hinata. "Do I get hurt less if I tell you that yours are better?"

* * *

**AN: **

**Heh, I bet you thought Orochimaru was interested in Kage, not Hinata. (Only two other people know about Kage's Kokugan, Naruto and Hinata, so there's no way for Orochimaru to know about it despite his impressive spy system.)**

**Like I said before, Naruto's partner will be introduced after the Chunin exams, and will not be an OC. Try to guess who it is and send me a PM, when her identity is finally released I'll post a list of people who correctly guessed.**

**I'll update Children of the Clouds ASAP!**


	11. Chapter 11: 3rd Stage Prelims & Training

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**PS: If you have trouble imagining Hinata's hair length in this chapter, use this:**

http:// dark1408 .deviantart .com /art/WC-Hinata-53267403

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as shippuden cannon.**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**2/4/2010**

* * *

Chapter 11: 3rd Stage

(I'm not going to detail the fight between Sasuke and Yoroi. Just remember that Sasuke wins, barely.)

"So how do you know Hayate-san, Kage-kun?" Ino asked, drawing out the suffix. "I'm pretty sure I've seem him at my family's flower shop several times."

Kage did his best to ignore Ino coming on to him. "Oh, he gave me some kenjutsu lessons. A while ago, he had a fight with his girlfriend, and he was feeling really depressed because she left him. I told him to suck it up and go buy some flowers to apologize."

Naruto snorted. "And those were your exact words, right?" He said sarcastically.

"Erm, my exact words may have been a little bit………coarser." Kage admitted. "It was more like: You're a fucking pussy, sensei. So what you and Yugao-sensei had a fight? If you're so afraid of getting hurt worse that you don't try to apologize, just because she might reject you again, then you obviously don't love her. Don't you think she's in just as much pain as you?" Kage let the words hang in the air. _You know, now I'm confused. What exactly is love?_ To stop his mind from wandering down that dangerous path, Kage took out his blade and started checking the grooves for any dirt or dried blood.

Ino, Naruto, and Hinata were shocked.

_Whoa, that was deep…_Naruto thought.

_Wait, but if they had a fight and his girlfriend left him, wouldn't she not want to see Hayate-san again?_ Ino wondered, confused. _Sounds like Hayate-san is a sucker for punishment._

_Kage-kun…_Hinata pondered. _In that situation, would you come back to me?_

"Oh, look, Sasuke-teme won." Kage said, trying to change the subject.

"Next match." Gekko Hayate called out. "Kage vs Tenten. Damn, you two need to get last names."

Kage shrugged as he vaulted over the railing to enter the arena, Tenten doing the same. Kage casualty drew his katana, swinging it side to side to loosen his wrist. Tenten unsealed a long naginata from a scroll.

**(In case you don't know, a naginata is a pole-arm like weapon. It is like a spear, but with a blade on the end, around the length of a short sword. Like many Eastern weapons, its use focuses more on speed and ability rather than strength.)**

"I don't suppose you could just surrender and spare me from having to exert myself, could you?" Kage asked lazily. _This was a lucky match-up. I can probably win without having to use any special ninjutsu, keeping them as a surprise for after the preliminaries._

Tenten smirked. "I don't think so. How about you; I'd hate to have to scar up that pretty-boy face of yours." _Heh, he's at a disadvantage; definitely a lucky match-up for me. The reach of my naginata will generally allow me to strike at him before he's in range to strike at me. I may get by without having to use Twin Rising Dragons. Still, he doesn't seem the type to become unconfident._

"Oh, not my pretty-boy face!" Kage mocked in a high pitch, but smiled to let Tenten know that he was jesting. Funny, how people could joke around one second and get ready to kill each other the next. "Okay, enough joking around. Seriously, I have yet to meet a girl who doesn't come onto me in some way." Kage admitted. _Stupid dragon pheromones. _Suddenly, he blushed. _Well, there's one girl who I don't mind coming on to me…_

"If you two are done…" Hayate trailed off, and both combatants nodded. "Begin."

At point blank range, Tenten through two kunai, one on each side of Kage's head. She expected him to flinch in either direction, but felt a lurching sensation as wind brushed past her head. Somehow, it was the two kunai she had thrown. They had severed the bands holding her hair in her trademark two buns, and her hair fell down to her shoulders.

"So letting your hair down, huh?" Kage asked casually. "Most people wait until after a match to do that. Too bad I don't have a tie I could loosen."

Tenten glared at him. _Damn it, Kawarimi! All my projectiles are useless! If I use Twin Rising Dragons, could end up killing myself with my own weapons!_

Kage dashed in, trying to close the distance between him and Tenten as soon as possible, trying to reduce the advantage she had in reach. However, she kept him at bay, slashing and stabbing at him before he could get close enough to use his sword.

"Problems?" Tenten asked confidently as Kage jumped back to avoid disembowelment.

"Huh?" Kage pushed away an image of Hinata giving him a wake-up kiss. He blocked Tenten's naginata, sliding her blade off to the side but not attempting to follow up with an attack. _I really should try to focus on this match…_

"Not really." Kage answered casually. "How about you, I'm sure it's awfully hard to fight with all those scrolls you're carrying around." _Huh, I'll bet she has nice, pointy metal surprises sealed in those scrolls. They're probably ranged weapons. Okay, time to have a little fun._

Tenten was forced to block several rapid strikes. _What? He just got way faster! Was he holding back before?_ On a low thrust, the brunette trapped Kage's blade, pinning it to the floor with the front of her naginata. Spinning the weapon, Tenten thrust the butt of the shaft at Kage's head before he could get his blade into a blocking position, but he casually blocked it with the heel of his left palm. Kage pushed her away, forcing her back and freeing the blade.

Kage immediately slashed downwards to take advantage of Tenten's imbalance. However, against Kage's expectations, Tenten had already regained her footing, and she had to jump back to avoid being cleaved in two.

What happened next would be the talk of Konoha for the next few years.

Kage's perfectly vertical slash found the fabric between Tenten's breasts, the tip of the blade coming so close to her skin that it even cut her bra. The front of her shirt cut in half, and her breasts were revealed, free from the constraining presence of her bra.

Up on the second floor, Kiba wolf-whistled. "Way to go!" He shouted before being hit on the back of his head by Kurenai Yuhi, his jonin sensei. "That is very unyouthful of you!" Lee shouted.

Kage looked away awkwardly. He said the first thing that came to mind. "H-Hinata-hime's are better." He said, barely loud enough for Tenten to hear. _Oh shit! I did not just say that. _

To her credit, Tenten blushed but didn't falter and pressed her attack on Kage. The poor boy was caught between looking away and trying to not die. With a series of acrobatic backflips, Kage distanced himself from Tenten.

"Wait, that was a complete accident, I swear." He called. "If I give you my shirt, will you promise to not attack me?"

"Yeah, sure." Tenten covered herself with her arms. It was one thing to be naked while focused on fighting; but an entirely different thing to be naked, doing nothing, and know that everyone was watching you!

Kage cautiously sheathed his sword and unbuttoned his black and gold vest. Setting it on the ground, he quickly took off his red t-shirt, tossing it to Tenten. Kage put his vest back on, not bothering to button it up again.

Hinata glared at Ino as the blonde got a nosebleed from seeing Kage's toned body.

"Um, Hinata-nee-chan, your nose is bleeding." Naruto pointed out in an oblivious tone. _Eh heh heh. They think I don't know about them. I'm just waiting for the best time to embarrass them._ The spiky-haired blonde thought triumphantly.

Hinata blushed. _It's okay for me!_ She mentally defended herself. _I'm his girlfriend!_

Tenten put on the red t-shirt, picking her naginata off the floor. "I really appreciate this, but don't think I'll go easy on you." She warned.

Kage drew his sword again. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Together, they clashed, the silver-color steel of Tenten's naginata clanging against the black steel of Kage's katana.

Eventually, Kage pushed Tenten back again and smirked. "It's been fun, but this is the end. Tell Lee I'm sorry." _I don't think he'll like me stealing one of his moves. Not even part of one, especially after Sasuke ripped off his Front Lotus._

"Wha—?" Tenten started as Kage seemed to disappear in a burst of speed.

"Konoha-Ken Senpu **(Leaf-Blade Whirlwind)**." Kage stated calmly, briefly hanging upside down in the air behind Tenten.

_Behind me!_ Tenten barely had time to duck as Kage came close to beheading her.

Having missed on his first strike, Kage dropped to the ground, but caught himself in a one-handed handstand position, torquing his body violently as he following up with another smooth slash, which Tenten was able to block.

Kage smirked. Following through with the momentum of his body, Kage swept his legs in a two-legged kick. There was little striking force behind the strike, but it was aimed low, and took Tenten's legs out from under her. As she fell, the brunette lost her grip on the naginata.

_This is it! _In an instant, Kage was crouched over Tenten, his katana at her throat, a kunai at her heart. "Yield." He demanded.

Tenten quickly assessed her situation. There was no way she could reach for a weapon before Kage could react. There was an utter lack of hesitation in Kage's eyes, as if he was perfectly fine with what could happen next. Tenten shivered. "Proctor, I forfeit."

Gekko nodded. "Alright, Kage wins and will advance to the third stage."

Kage nodded and stood up, offering Tenten a hand up. Tenten blinked. _Wasn't he ready to kill me a second ago?_ She took his hand and got to her feet. Disturbed and disappointed, Tenten turned to go back to her team.

"Wait." Kage grabbed Tenten by the arm. "Um, could you keep what I said a secret?" He begged.

"Huh?"

Kage looked down. "Eh…………about my teammate." He said, deliberately vague.

_Oh yeah, that. _Tenten smirked. "So, you've seen the most important heiress in Konoha, naked, huh?"

"No—it's not l-like that!" Kage protested. _Actually, it kinda is._ "We're just f-friends! I saw her in a swimsuit." _Girlfriend and boyfriend. A very revealing swimsuit._

"Riiiiiight." Tenten smiled to show she had no hard feelings about the match. He had beaten her because he was faster and more skilled. She would simply have to train harder. Tenten turned around and walked away.

"Was that a yes?" Kage asked Hayate, confused. Hayate didn't even know who they were talking about, but got the general gist of the conversation.

Gekko shrugged, coughing. "Beats me *cough cough*. The only woman *cough* I understand is Yugao-chan *cough*; and that's just barely. Now get out of here, I have to *cough cough* start the next match." He raised his voice. "Next match, Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba *cough* Inuzuka."

Kage sighed. Tenten seemed to not be the gossiping kind……he hoped. With a chakra-powered jump, Kage leaped up to the second floor were all the spectators were. He winced a little bit while landing. _Heh, it's a good thing my muscle tissue structure is different that a regular human's; that last move really put a lot of stress on my body. Geez, how much does Lee train to strengthen his body to the point where he can use that?_

Because he felt like it, Kage casually pushed Naruto over the railing, confident that his brother would land on his feet.

Naruto let out a loud stream of curses involving death, castration, disembowelment, decapitation, and implications involving Kage's katana and a possible wish to compensate for something. His words didn't stop, even after he landed on his feet and walked to the center of the stage. The blonde grumbled angrily as he waited for Kiba and Akamaru to enter the stage.

"Hinata-chan…" Kage said casually.

Hinata felt her heart race soar. _Is he going to break up with me? Did he like that other girl more? No, Kage-kun wouldn't do that, right?_

"…you have some blood coming out of your nose." Kage continued in an absolutely nonromantic way. "Let me get that for you."

* * *

"Tsuga!"

Naruto was sent flying again. _Crap, I thought he needed Akamaru to do that jutsu!_

_Damn it, Kage! _Naruto thought, winded from his prolonged fight with Kiba and Akamaru. _I wish you could have fixed my seal! I'm fighting at probably a twentieth of my full power!_

"I think the odd, asymmetrical properties of the five-pronged seal are what is causing the even, radial balance of your seal to malfunction, causing you to be cut off from the Kyuubi no Kitsune and also decreasing your chakra control drastically." Kage had explained. "In fact, I can even name the base constituents of the seal: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. I could probably remove the seal by applying the proper antipodal energy to each prong of the seal."

"Then do it." Naruto had replied.

Kage had shaken his head. "That's really not a good idea. For all I know, doing so could disrupt your seal even worse. It could even facilitate a chain reaction, ultimately freeing the Nine-tails. I know you said that he's not that destructive, but I still don't his presence would go unnoticed; and you would die as well. On the other hand, it could work perfectly. Without being able to understand the base underlying seal, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, I have no clue as to what will happen. If old man Hokage let me see the original base designs of the seal, if they exist on paper, then I would be able to determine the effects of removing the seal. The only person who helped the Yondaime with the seal was Jiraiya, a sannin and the Yondaime's sensei. He's the only person who would know for sure what would happen."

_Meh, consequences._ Naruto thought, getting back to his feet. _I'll bet Kage could have removed this seal with his antipodal energy thingy without messing up my real seal._

"Just give up, Naruto. You're overpowered, here." Kiba stated.

Naruto put his hands together. _Eh, I only have enough chakra for five or so clones……_ "Kiba, you're not the only one who's gotten new jutsu since our last fight. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

"Too slow!" Kiba appeared behind Naruto, ready to strike.

Naruto shat gas into Kiba's face. "AHHH! WHAT THE FUCK?!?! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EAT?"

_Oops. Um, ramen?_

"U! ZU! MA! KI! NARUTO RENDAN!" With each syllable, a clone hit Kiba higher and higher, until the real Naruto kicked Kiba and sent him hurtling into the floor.

Hayate checked Kiba. The boy was out cold. "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki."

Several spectators face-faulted. _What the hell was that?_

"Nii-san…………you're a kami-damn idiot." Kage muttered. _That was a brilliant use of shadow clones and henge, though._ "You might have lost if you didn't shit in his face on accident."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Um……I did that on purpose?" _I clenched too hard. I even made up that last move at the last second; but hey, it worked great!_ "Do you think Kiba will be mad at me for making him hit Akamaru?"

"I d-don't think so." Hinata said. "It's a fight; a-anything goes." _Even farting?_

* * *

The next few matches continued without much fanfare.

Shino vs Zaku. Winner: Shino.

Kankuro vs Misumi. Winner: Kankuro.

Lee vs Gaara. Winner: Gaara.

"The next match will be a three-way match. Ino Yamanaka vs Sakura Haruno vs Temari Subaku. Begin!"

Temari smirked. "Neither of you are a match for me whatsoever. I'll just pick off the winner between you two."

Ino sneered. "Don't worry, I won't make you wait too long. I'll finish up with Forehead before moving on to you."

"Please, Ino-buta, get real. Are you still jealous that you didn't get placed on Sasuke-kun's team?"

"Kami damn." Asuma grumbled. "Does everyone have to talk before they start fighting. Man, I remember the good old days back when I was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. People didn't waste time back then, we let our fists and jutsus do the talking for us." _Kazuma……_

Temari sweatdropped as she stepped back. _These two are kunoichi? Is this a joke?_

"Don't even talk to me about that emo fag. I'm so over him." Ino stated. "Kage-kun is much better. How many times has Sasuke ever said anything to you, Sakura, besides 'Hn'?"

Up on the balcony, Kage sweatdropped. _Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. I'm bored…… _

Naruto watched in boredom as Ino and Sakura knocked each other out at the same time, leaving the girl from Sunakagure no Sato as the winner. _Damn, we didn't even get to see what she could do._

No one noticed the quick kiss Kage and Hinata snuck in while Sakura and Ino were arguing._ Okay, now I'm not bored anymore…wait, what's this scent? Oh, fuck, I know who this is…_

"Next match, Choji Akimichi vs Dosu Kinuta." Both applicants entered the stage.

"Huh." Kage quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking at him. "Guys, cover me for a while." He quickly made a shadow clone, which ran up the wall using an undetectable sliver of chakra.

* * *

Kin stared apathetically down at her 'teammate'. _Bastards, both of them. I'm not sorry at all that Zaku got his fucking arms blown off._

"You seem to have a distinct lack of concern from your teammates." A voice behind her said quietly.

Kin immediately spun around. _What? I didn't feel anything!_ It was the black-haired boy from before, the one who had caught her when she fell. Kage, that was what his name was.

"Unsurprising, considering who put you guys together." Kage said calmly as he watched Choji use his family jutsu.

Kin froze. _He knows about Orochimaru? Shit, he could attack me right now! Or maybe he doesn't have proof yet._

"If I wanted to kill you without making a scene, you would have just slipped in the shower, hit your head, and drowned." Kage continued blandly. "Or maybe you would have choked when eating separate from your teammates, as you always do. Or worse, you might have even committed suicide, with witnesses, no less." _Heh, mostly educated guesses and threats. I couldn't even do the last one. Maybe Shikamaru or Ino could, though…_

"Then why—" Kin was disturbed by the boy's closeness, coupled with his revealed chest and abs.

"You've worked with hebi-teme." _I can taste his scent on you. After meeting him once, Orochimaru's scent isn't one that I'll easily forget. These three from sound have been in contact with him, but there are definitely others……I just can't pinpoint them._ "I'm on good terms with the Hokage. In exchange for everything you know about Otokagure no Sato, I'm sure we can work out an immunity and protection deal for you." _Eh heh heh. I have absolutely no authority to do something like this…_ "There's obviously no love lost between you and your teammates……or your village. Think about it." _And I hope you accept it. Otherwise, I __**will**__ have to kill you. But not before you reveal everything you know…………one way or another._

Kage disappeared in a burst of smoke, leaving Kin behind with her thoughts. _Mother, Father………you abandoned me, at a time I needed you the most. Zaku, Dosu……all that matters to you two is the mission; you could care less if I got hurt. When I got in the way, you carelessly blasted me aside. Orochimaru, you just wanted to experiment with my body, I was nothing more than a sack of meat to you. I hope you all burn in hell. But should I defect to Konoha? The devils I know, or the devils I don't?..._

"Winner, Dosu Kinuta."

* * *

Kage closed his eyes as the memories of his shadow clone returned. _Good. Orochimaru will die for hurting my hime. By the edge of my blade and the edge of my soul, I swear it._

"Woohoo! Go Shikamaru, you lazy bum!" Naruto cheered. _That was really smart, hiding his shadow along the string!_

"Next match, Neji Hyuga vs Hinata Hyuga."

Hinata froze.

_I don't think I should push her over the railing, like I did with nii-san. _Her boyfriend thought.

"Hmm. Hinata?" Kage paused. "Remember 'The Middle.'"

Hinata couldn't help the small smile that came onto her face. _You always know just what to say to make me feel better, don't you? I just hope Neji doesn't hate me for his father's death…_

Hinata unzipped her jacket, revealing her black t-shirt, and Kage freaked out. "Hinata-chan, w-what are you doing?" He hissed. "You'll be susceptible to Neji's Juken without the jacket!"

"I know." Hinata said calmly, despite her inner turmoil. "This is something I have to do. Trust me." She said resolutely.

Kage frowned, but accepted the fuinjutsu modified jacket. "Fine, but don't start taking off your pants." He said sourly, causing Hinata to blush at his joke.

On the stage, Neji glared superiorly at Hinata.

"Before we start the match, there's something I want to say to you. You aren't cut out for shinobi life, Hinata-sama. You shun conflict, and always seek to appease others. You fear violence—"

"Twenty-eight…" Hinata said softly. _Yep, he hates me._ She thought sadly.

"What?"

"Twenty-eight. I have k-killed twenty-eight men, Neji."

"Pfffft. You are still weak. You have a hairline fracture running through the length of your right tibia—"

"Which is the only reason w-why I might not win." Hinata challenged. "Are you going to fight, Neji, or keep talking?"

Neji's scowl tightened. He rushed towards Hinata.

Kage's grip tightened on the handrail. _Attacking the chakra network and the internal organs……I wouldn't ordinarily be worried, but with her broken leg, the mistake of a single instant could be fatal for either of them…but Neji seems to deliberately trying to kill Hinata-chan. Hime, going to have a talk, sometime after this…_

Hinata winced as she blocked Neji's strikes. _My leg hurts so badly…but I won't give up!_ She thought with determination. She pressed a momentary opening in Neji's guard.

_She's fast!_ Neji thought, blocking a strike aimed for his sternum. _If I didn't know better, I'd think she was in top condition! So the rumors going around the Hyuga Clan are true…but it still won't be enough!_

Neji smirked as he shot an uppercut palm into Hinata's jaw. Flying upwards, Hinata twisted so that she landed on her feet.

Her lavender eyes shot open and Hinata had a sudden coughing spasm, covering her mouth with her hand. When she pulled her hand away, it held a pool of blood.

"Give up, Hinata-sama." Neji made the honorific sound like a curse. "I've closed off all the tenketsu in your arm; Juken is useless to you now. You also have serious internal damage."

Hinata couldn't help but smile, even as she tasted the coppery flavor of blood in her mouth. "Neji…you still seem to be u-under the impression that I am w-weak."

Shaking ever so slightly, Hinata reached into her kunai pouch and drew a kunai, palming it into her right hand so the blade came out from between her second and third fingers. She dashed towards Neji.

_What style is this? _Neji thought with incredulity. _I can't tell where she's going to strike from, it's like she's making several feints, all at the exact same time!_

_Hinata-chan…you really are serious, aren't you?_ Kage thought, worried beyond words. _All those weeks and months ago, you decided Bagua was too much like Juken. You wanted to have a fallback just in case you couldn't use Juken, so we made up a fighting style, taking bits and pieces of other styles to create a stance that is completely you. It's ideal against an opponent concerned with defense, like a person using Juken, as it appears that an attack can be launched from several places at once, forcing the opponent to defend conservatively. However, in reality her guard is wide open…truly a last ditch effort._

_There! She's going to strike with her palm! _Neji though, pushing his block to the right in anticipation for a blow that never came. Instead, Hinata lunged forwards with the kunai, and Neji jerked his head back as a large swath of hair fell to the ground. _Too close!_

_I can do this! _Hinata reached for another strike. _AHHH!_ The searing pain in her leg rose even higher; and Hinata hesitated just long enough for Neji to hit her torso with another Juken strike.

Hinata felt like something was crushed inside of her, and coughed out more blood.

"You are stronger than I expected, Hinata-sama." Neji acknowledged. "But fate has already decreed my victory."

Hinata smiled sadly, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. "I think…you d-don't really believe that, Neji. If that were true, you would…accept your p-place as a…Branch Member."

Neji's eyes tightened and he rushed in for the final blow.

Neji's seemed to freeze in place as five blurs appeared in front of him, each immobilizing a part of his body.

Kurenai was grabbing his left leg, preventing him from moving closer to Hinata.

Kakashi had stopped Neji's strike by grabbing his wrist.

Hayate was standing in front of Hinata, a single finger placed on Neji's headband covered forehead.

Guy had his arm wrapped around his headstrong student's neck.

_What!?! It might have only been by a nanosecond, but Kage was the first one here! _Guy thought.

"It's okay for me and the jonin senseis to intervene…" Hayate murmured, although he could not fault his protégé for his actions. "…you'll be disqualified for interfering in a match, Kage."

"I'm not touching him." Kage spat. Kage held his sword with the tip less than a hairsbreadth away from Neji's right eye. If the jonin had waited a half second longer to stop Neji, his momentum would have carried his head right into Kage's blade, killing him via impalement of the head. If the jonin had been a nanosecond slower, Neji would have been blinded in his right eye.

Hayate raised an eyebrow, and Kage reluctantly pulled his sword away. Hinata crumpled to the floor, coughing blood.

"Hinata-chan!" Kage knelt besides the Hyuga heiress.

"Why do you even bother with her?" Neji asked smugly. "No matter how hard she may try, she is and will always be a failure."

A look of extreme hatred passed over Kage's face before his face melted into a cold, emotionless mask.

Kage used the tip of his katana to cut a small gash in his left forearm, running parallel to the one he had given himself almost two years ago. Turning his forearm over, he let his blood fall to the floor, without any facial expressions indicating pain, not even a grimace. His blood mixed with Hinata's, and Kage dipped the tip of his sword in the mixed blood. Raising the blade back up, he lengthened the cut he had made before, so his wound extended from the inside edge of his wrist to the crook of his elbow.

"In one month, this year's Rookie of the Year and last year's Rookie of the year will fight." Kage intoned; a blank look in his eyes.

"We've got to hurry! She'll die in less than ten minutes without treatment!" A medic shouted, one of the three attending Hinata.

Without a word, Kage sheathed his sword and turned around to leave the room.

Neji sneered. "Do you really think you can beat me?"

"There is no point in arguing with a dead man. You have one month." His tone was so blank and cold that even Sasuke shivered in fear.

The black haired boy left, and followed the medics.

* * *

"Unfortunately, the Council seems to have passed a law that states that if a clan with a kekkei genkai is endangered, the most experienced user of the kekkei genkai is obligated to teach those who have the kekkei genkai for one month every year." Kakashi spat. "Conveniently, they happened to choose this next month."

Naruto groaned. "So basically, they're forcing you to teach Sasuke-teme."

Kakashi nodded, and was about to respond when Kage walked in, looking very tired.

"How's Hinata-nee-chan?" Naruto immediately asked.

"She'll make it." Kage replied. "The three medics were healing her and but they didn't have enough energy or experience to heal her wounds completely. Um……I uh………may or may not have found another doctor and forced him at sword point to continue the job. Luckily, her father came by with some Hyuga medics, who were trained in healing internal and Juken-caused injuries." _I wonder why he did that. Hm, he probably just wanted the clan heir to live._ "There will be no repercussions, I made the doctor I…persuaded…didn't get a good look at me. Right now, Hinata-chan is unconscious but stable. The doctors expect her to recover within the month."

Naruto sighed in relief. "That's good. By the way, old man Hokage explained some things. Basically, the third stage will be single elimination. The matches are you and Neji, Shikamaru and Temari, Sasuke and Gaara, and Dosu and me. We don't actually have to win in order to become a chunin, just impress the judges. Sooooooo, we have one month to train for the third stage, and Kakashi-sensei has his hands tied. Want to train with me, nii-san?"

Kage shook his head. "The way I'm going to train in the next month…you can't do it. Not," he added upon seeing the look on Naruto's face, "for lack of determination. This is just something I have to do on my own."

Kakashi nodded. He could tell Kage had feelings for Hinata. _This is exactly like my old team. Obito liked Rin, who liked me, although I didn't realize it at the time. Kage likes Hinata, who, last time I checked, likes Naruto, who also doesn't realize his teammate's feelings. Hmm, so this is why Kage has always ignored his fangirls._

"What are you planning to do?" Naruto asked cautiously. _Nii-san is acting like he's calm……but he's really burning up inside._

Kage shrugged. "Becoming a chunin is immaterial to me, right now. I'm going to defeat Neji in the most humiliating way possible." He said calmly. "And then I am going to kill him." Kage disappeared in a poof of smoke; a shadow clone.

"Naruto…did you know what he meant, 'the most humiliating way possible'?" Kakashi asked hesitantly. _He may not want to admit it, but Kage is a lot like Sasuke. They both have dark personalities; both are obsessed with violence and revenge. Be careful, Kage, that you do not stay on that dark path for too long._ Years of being in ANBU had made him see many things, and he remembered how Kage had so callously mutilated his arm. Kage was the type to make a blood vow. Whatever his mental reasoning, Kage would dedicate himself to achieving whatever he was thinking about at the time. Kage had dedicated himself to revenge.

"I'm not sure…" Naruto admitted. _…But Neji is definitely fucked._ "I better go start training, I'm sure Kage-nii-san has already started." He turned to leave.

"Naruto, wait!" Naruto turned around. "I'm sorry, I really am." Kakashi said.

"I believe you, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied, and left.

* * *

Naruto desolately walked down the streets of Konoha. _Damn it, I need something special for training. At this rate, I won't be able to use most of my jutsu in time for the championships._

Suddenly, Naruto heard perverted giggling. He looked over to the spa and sighed.

"Hey pervert, get out of there!" He yelled generically. There were squeals from within the bathhouse, and a tall, long, spiky white-haired man walked out sporting several bruises.

"How dare you disrupt my research? I am the legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya of the Sanin!" The white-haired man declared, doing an odd shuffle on one foot with both arms in the air. "Also, I am no ordinary pervert…I am a super pervert!" _Wait a second…spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker marks……this is Minato and Kushina's kid!_

Naruto sweatdropped. _He sounded pretty proud about that last one…_ "Okaaay, moving on…you're the guy who my nii-san said that you could fix a little problem I have. You see…" Naruto lifted up his shirt and channeled chakra, and the disrupted seal appeared on his stomach. "I really need to get this seal off; it's messing with my chakra control and I have the Chunin Exams coming up in a month!"

Jiraiya stared in shock. _This is Orochimaru's work, no doubt about it. What did Naruto mean when he said, "His nii-san?"_

"Hmm. And why does your _brother_ think I can remove this seal, gaki?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hey, my name's Naruto Uzumaki…ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya noticed the pause after Naruto said his last name. _It's like he was going to say another thing at the end…I wonder if he knows?_

"Yeah, so can you do it? My brother said something about removing the seal using something like metal, wood, water, fire, and earth; and using antipodi…antipodaole…" Naruto trailed off, having forgotten the exact word.

"Antipodal energy?" Jiraiya supplied. _This kid must really be something to figure out a seal like this…_ "Yeah, so why didn't he do it himself?"

"He thought there was a chance it might damage to my underlying seal. So you gotta do it!" Naruto announced/demanded.

Jiraiya frowned. "And why should I do that?"

Naruto grinned. "Because I know one Anko Mitarashi; and I'm pretty sure she'll be very interested to hear that you're in town…peeping on the ladies…"

Jiraiya paled. _Not that woman!_ He went into the fetal position and started sucking on his thumb. His mind filled with images of being attacked and violated by snakes. Naruto looked at him oddly.

"Okay, I'll do it." Jiraiya said hurredly, standing up and gripping his wrist. He slammed five fingertips into Naruto's stomach. "Gogyo Kaiin **(Five-Prong Unseal)**!"

Naruto fell to the ground and stayed there, conscious but in pain.

"**Kit, can you hear me?"**

_Geez, you actually sound worried about me…_

"**Hmph. Shows how much you know…"**

_What's that supposed to mean!?_

"**The only way my chakra, and thus my presence, can escape your body is through that your original seal. If you died while that five-pronged seal was in effect, my chakra would be locked in your body permanently…and I would die."** The Kyuubi said sourly. **"Similarly, if you fail to convert a large percentage of my chakra into your own before you die, the same will happen, as too much of me will be in your body for me to reform in the outside world."**

_So, basically, your very existence is dependent on me! _Naruto thought triumphantly, and the Demon Fox growled. **"Watch it, kit. I could always try to force my way out…"** _Ha! Helping me is your best chance and you know it!_

"Hey, gaki, you okay?" Jiraiya asked worriedly.

Naruto's eyes opened. "Never better."

* * *

_Several days later…_

A black haired boy with dark-brown eyes was wandering down the streets of Konoha.

Kage coughed into his hand, splattering flecks of blood over his callused palm. _Okay, sparring with shadow clones using my new style is a bad idea. At least I know it works, though._

"Hey, kid, you gonna die?"

Kage looked up. It was the blond girl from Suna, theone who was in the three-way match with Sakura and Ino. _Temari, still don't know what she can do. Probably a strong wind-type ninjutsu user._

"Hmph. Someday." He said, eyeing the girl's teammate. _Kankuro, a_ _puppet user, huh? They look related…brother and sister?_ "Still, trying to scare me to death isn't helping. You can tell your third teammate to get out of the tree."

Temari and Kankura flinched, surprising Kage.

The redhead, who was using chakra to hang upside down by his feet on the tree, appeared in front of the other three genin in a swirl of sand.

"You weren't about to do anything stupid, were you?" Gaara asked emotionlessly. "Don't lie to me."

Kankuro stepped back. "Uh, hey, G-Gaara." He said nervously. "I, We, uh, didn't know you were there. I was, uh, just going to mess around a l-little—"

"Shut up." Gaara said, and turned to Kage. "I saw the look in your eyes when you cut yourself. You are going to kill that pale-eyed boy, and you will enjoy his blood immensely."

_I'll definitely kill Neji, but if my training goes well not a single drop of blood will be spilled. I'll enjoy it, and set an example for others. No one hurts my Hinata-hime… _"Hn." _This guy is powerful…what the hell is up with his control of sand? He has an oddly familiar presence… _

"Are those two your brother and sister?" Kage asked, and Gaara nodded. "Then we are nothing alike."

Gaara's eyes betrayed no emotion. _Mother will enjoy his blood, as well. Soon, Mother, soon. _"Temary, Kankuro, let's go." He ordered, and left.

_Huh, what a bastard._ Kage thought, and walked away. _Then again, I knew that just from the way he defeated Lee. He had Lee completely immobilized; there was no reason to destroy his ninja career. Not only that, but Gaara was about to kill him, also. Maybe, though, that would be a blessing to Lee, from what I've seen. Being a shinobi seems to be everything to Lee, and now his dream is unattainable. Maybe Tsunade of the Sannin could heal his arm and leg…maybe._

Kage smiled in irony. _Seems we need quite a few Sannin lately. Jiraiya to fix the five-pronged seal on Naruto and Tsunade to heal Lee. I hope Lee's limbs can be healed…besides, I'd like to test my Kokugan speed against the Lee with some of the Eight Gates opened._

_Huh, what should I do now? I've overextended myself on training; I can't start back up until tomorrow. I know, I'll go see Hinata-chan!_

* * *

The nurse outside Hinata's room stopped outside the door. "She's only woken once; so don't get your hopes up." She admonished. "If she does wake up, don't get her too excited or anything. Those Hyuga doctors did a great job healing her, but the internal damage won't completely go away until the end of this month."

Kage nodded. "Got it."

He entered Hinata's room. _She's sleeping so peacefully…_ If it weren't for the monitors and IV, Kage would've thought her slumber was natural.

The black-haired boy pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. He activated the sound proof barrier jutsu, Fuinjutsu: Kachou Naisho (**Sealing Technique: Audible Privacy**). He began to speak.

"I know you can't hear me, Hime. But I feel like so much is going on; I need to get this off my chest." Kage said, slowly. "You really worried me; I thought you were about to die. I understand that you needed to make a point to Neji and yourself, but if you died…" He shook his head. "Listen to me, I'm venting out my emotions. You…You've changed me, Hinata-chan. I'm really confused; I don't know what will happen at all, particularly between us. All I know is that I like being with you…" _Understatement of the year._

"…and I don't want anyone to take you away from me. Especially not that ass, Neji. I miss having you around, and I hope you get better soon, Hime." Kage gently dipped his head down and lightly brushed his lips against Hinata's. Sighing, he turned to leave.

"T-That w-was really s-sweet, Kage-kimi." Hinata said softly.

Kage whipped around. "You're awake! Um, how much did you hear?" He asked, nervously.

"All o-of it." Hinata admitted.

Kage groaned. "Great. Now I feel really stupid."

The Hyuga girl giggled very softly; she was still very sore. "A-ano, I don't w-want you to f-feel uncomfortable around me."

He didn't reply, but Kage couldn't help but smile as he sat down and took Hinata's hand in his own. "You could never make me uncomfortable, Hinata-chan." He winked, and Hinata blushed at the many implications of his words.

_You might change your mind, after this… _"Kage-kun…I know what y-you're going to do. I…don't w-want you to kill Neji."

Kage shot to his feet, and Hinata winced. "What? He tried to kill you! Why should we let that bastard live?"

"He's had a hard life, Kage-kun. Not as h-hard as you or Naruto, or even me, but Neji certainly hasn't had it easy. When I was three, I was almost kidnapped by the Kumo ambassador. My f-father killed him, but the Raikage demanded compensation, saying Konoha had broken the covenant of diplomatic immunity. N-Neji's father was my father's twin brother, so they sent him in my f-father's place, satisfying Kumo's demands and preserving the B-Byakugan."

Kage idly scratched the long scab on his left forearm, keeping it turned so Hinata wouldn't see the wound and worry. "I'll think about it. I—have to go." He muttered, and left.

Hinata frowned as her boyfriend left, and the jonin sensei of Team 8 walked in.

"A-Ano, Kurenai-san!" Hinata said in a panicked tone. "Wh-What are y-you doing here?"

"Well, Sasuke is training with Kakashi-san and Shino is training with his clan, so I really don't have anything to do this month." The red-eyed woman explained. "So I thought I'd check up on you. I saw your fight at the second stage of the Chunin Exams. You showed a lot of guts out there, and are one of the few female kunoichi of your age that I respect."

Hinata didn't respond, and Kurenai knew what she was thinking about. It was her black-haired teammate who had left her room just a few seconds ago. Kurenai had walked past him in the hallway, and he had looked awfully distraught, but the instant he saw her, his had face melted into a placid look, so quickly Kurenai almost thought she imagined his look of distress.

"Do you love him?" Kurenai suddenly asked.

"Na-nani?" Hinata stuttered.

"Your brown-eyed teammate. Do you love him? I won't tell anybody." Kurenai cajoled.

Hinata quickly caved, due to the stress of the previous days and the way in which her boyfriend had left. "A-ano……I d-don't know. I o-once thought I was in l-l-love, but it w-was just a c-crush." Hinata said sadly. "I feel really different a-around Kage-kun. He makes me feel……wanted, needed. Like I have a purpose in this w-world, and that's to be with him."

_Sounds like love. I'll let her figure it out, though._ Kurenai thought. "I think he might feel similarly. After you lost consciousness, he did the strangest thing. He took the tip of his sword, and cut his forearm lengthwise. I noticed that he already had a scar running in the exact same direction in almost the same spot. Do you know what that is?" The woman asked curiously.

Hinata nodded. "Kage-ki…kun has never s-said as much, but I think its h-how he symbolizes his desire to avenge his precious people. To him, c-cutting himself before taking revenge is recognition of the s-sacrifices he and others have made. It's like he's reminding himself what his g-goal is: b-b-blood."

Kurenai shivered. _This kid might be another Itachi Uchiha, somewhere down the line._ She spent the rest of her time chatting with the Hyuga and getting to know her, talking about more frivolous topics.

* * *

"Come on, don't you want to learn how to summon?" Jiraiya pleaded for the hundredth time.

"Oh, fine, if it will get you to shut up, ero-sennin." Naruto grumbled. "I just have a really bad feeling about this…"

Regardless, Naruto spread out the scroll. He bit his thumb and hastily scrawled his signature in the margin.

"Good, now try it!"

"Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram, Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto slammed his palm into the ground, created a large cloud of smoke. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto thought he heard laughter.

The smoke cleared to reveal a small, baby fox kit. It was a light, orange color, and was curled up in a sleeping position. Opening its light red eyes, the tiny fox yawned and looked around in confusion, blinking in awe at its new surroundings.

_So cute! _Naruto thought. "Well, you should go back, little one." With a small thread of chakra, he set the fox kit back to its original dimension. Wherever that was. Naruto thought the Kyuubi was suspiciously quiet, so he turned and glared at Jiraiya, instead.

_What the fuck? _Jiraiya wiped at Naruto's signature suspiciously. Instead of staying in place, or even smearing slightly, the blood came off completely, like dry-erase marker on whiteboard. _Damn, it must be the Kyuubi no Kitsune! I've never heard of such a thing as a Fox summoning contract. Although, it's probably better for getting the ladies than ugly little toads…_

"Well, shit…it's essentially impossible for one person to have a summoning contract with, so I'm going to teach you how to use fox summons, instead of toad summons. First of all, you'll need to summon something bigger."

* * *

_At the edge of a cliff…_

Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry, Arashi-Shou **(Little Storm)**." Scratching the baby fox's ears, he allowed it to dispel once more.

"Damn it, gaki!" Jiraiya shouted. "I said to use all of your chakra at once, like you'll die if you don't! We've been trying this for several days, now!"

"Shut up! I'm trying as hard as I can!" Naruto yelled back.

"And you haven't managed to summon anything different than the first time! You've seen him so many times that you've even named the stupid little fox!"

"Hey, don't call him stupid! He's just a baby—"

"And so are you!" Jiraiya ground his palm into his face. _This isn't working…how can I get him to expel more chakra?.........I know!...forgive me, Minato…_ "Kid, there are times that if a person releases too much chakra, they will die, even you. However…there are times when if you don't use enough chakra, you will also die."

Carelessly, Jiraiya pushed Naruto off the edge of the cliff. "This is one of those times!" He called out.

Naruto's eyes shot open as a rush of adrenaline hit him. _What the hell! I'm all out of chakra, Pervy Sage knows that! Wait…he must want me to use the Kyuubi's chakra. Are you fucking kidding me! He could have just said that at the beginning! What's the matter with him? Unlike some people, I can't fly!_

* * *

Kage sneezed quite loudly, and he quickly looked around to see if he had been caught. _Good, no one noticed. I'd probably get the shit beaten out of me if someone noticed me._ He suppressed his laughter. _Understatement of the day._

He continued his... research, staring intently. It was very, very important, after all.

* * *

Jiraiya sneezed. _Hmm, that's odd. Oh well—what's this? _He watched in amazement as Naruto was enveloped in an aura of orange chakra.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

"**I'M FINALLY FREE!!!"**

* * *

Naruto shot up from the bed, panting heavily. He looked around. He was in the hospital.

"Stupid nii-san…do you have any idea of what you've done?" He heard his brother's voice growl. "You basically scared the shit out of everyone in Konoha."

"I s-summoned…the Kyuubi." Naruto quickly lifted up the edge of his shirt. The seal was still there. "What happened?"

Kage sighed. "Summoning Jutsu is similar to a temporary space-time dimensional warp. Ordinarily, you can summon a creature from a separate realm, or a separate location, into your location. When the jutsu ends, the creature usually returns to its original realm. You summoned the Kyuubi—"

"What happened? Was anyone hurt?" Naruto interjected.

"No…according to Jiraiya, upon being summoned, the Kyuubi…went to sleep."

Naruto face-faulted, remembering the giant Demon Fox's sleeping problems.

"**Best sleep I've had in years. Do you know how cramped it is, here in your puny little mind?"**

_Shut up!_ Naruto thought. "Damn…so you met ero-sennin?"

"Yes, I met him about half an hour after you passed out, as we were getting you to the hospital. He is a very…interesting individual."

* * *

_Flashback…_

"So, what do you know about Naruto?" Jiraiya asked suspiciously. _This kid claims to have befriended Naruto at such an early age. I'd really like to believe Naruto has such a close friend, especially with his 'burden', but there's a chance this kid could be from ROOT. He would have been young, but Danzo has never ignored a potential recruit just because of age._

"More than you do, apparently." Kage said placidly.

"And just what would those things be?" _Emotionless and skilled beyond what is typical for his age…it can't just be a coincidence, right? _

"For starters, Naruto can already use youkai at will. There was no reason to throw him off a cliff." Kage said calmly, scratching the almost healed scar on his left wrist.

Jiraiya froze. _Um, did I ever specifically tell Naruto to use the Kyuubi's chakra?......oops._ "Uh, you know about his 'resident'?"

"No, I just randomly assume that my brother can use demonic energy." Kage drawled. "Wearing all that orange, he must be a demon to dress so atrociously."

_Sarcasm…? _Jiraiya's eyes twitched. "So how do you feel about the…fox?"

In response, Kage slipped a single scroll out of his black and gold vest. He tossed it to Jiraiya, who caught it. "Hey, what's this, brat?"

"Your answer." The black-haired boy began to walk away.

Jiraiya opened the scroll. In the scroll was a generic storage seal. Jiraiya unsealed its contents, and a single kunai popped out. _I see…the kunai is sealed in the scroll, just as the Kyuubi no Kitsune is sealed in Naruto._

Feeling really bad, Jiraiya caught up with Kage using a Shushin. "Hey kid, listen. I'm just worried about Naruto, ya know? Kid doesn't exactly have a whole lot pulling for him."

Kage's eyes softened infinitesimally, so Jiraiya continued.

"I've been training Naruto to summon lately. Thing is, I was gonna give him the Toad Summoning Contract, but the fox messed that up. I kind of have to find someone else to sign the scroll, or else it will die with me. I'd like for you to sign the scroll, since Naruto trusts you so much. How about it, kid?"

"My name is _not_ kid, its Kage." Kage shrugged. "Sure, I have a really bad feeling about this…"

_Like I haven't heard that before…_Jiraiya thought nervously, tossing the summons contract to Kage.

Kage lifted his blade an inch out of the sheath, slitting his thumb on the exposed edge. Letting the blade fall back, Kage pressed his thumb against the paper as he prepared to write his name.

The paper caught on fire. Panicking, Jiraiya quickly grabbed the scroll and ran to a stream, falling on his knees. He splashed water on the scroll, not enough to ruin the paper but just enough to douse the fire. He whipped around to glare at Kage.

The black-haired boy was already gone.

_End flashback_

* * *

"And then I ran, very, very quickly." Kage finished. "I couldn't risk him finding out about me. I think the fire had something to do with my blood…which isn't exactly human."

Naruto nodded as he got out of the hospital bed. "When is it?"

"January 31, 0930 hours. Tommorow is when the final tournament starts." Kage recited in a monotone.

"Great. So what are you going to do for the rest of the day, nii-san?" Naruto asked.

"Sleep."

Naruto looked at Kage. Indeed, the bags under his eyes were very visible, and he was slouched over. Odd, for a boy who usually had a posture that was as stiff as a board.

"Whoa…you must have been training a lot this last month." Naruto commented.

Kage scowled at the blonde. "Well, not everyone has your stamina. I've been pushing my self to the brink every damn day and—" He forced his mouth closed, realizing that he was starting to yell. In a calmer tone, he continued. "I'm going to go home and sleep."

He stood up and left. Naruto raised an eyebrow. _Sleep? For almost 24 whole hours? I can't wait to see what he's been working on…I guess I'll get some ramen and relax today. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day…_

* * *

"Alright, kiddies, my name's Gekko Shiranui. I'm gonna be the proctor for the third stage."

"What happened to Hayate-san?" Temari asked.

In the back of the group, Kage's eyes narrowed. A teary Yugao had informed him of Gekko's murder.

"He's unavailable." Genma replied. ANBU was always so hush-hush. "Anyways, this is the roster."

The new roster read: Kage vs Neji; Kankuro vs Shino, Temari vs Shikamaru, Naruto vs Dosu, Sasuke vs Gaara.

Kage was secretly relieved, although he didn't show it. It would be so inconvenient to have to track Neji down when he was alone, some other time.

"Alright, all of you guys get the hell out of here, except for the first two contestants."

* * *

Next Time:

Shikamaru: Kage has to be bluffing…he's insane!!!

Naruto: Don't you know? Insane is just another word for brilliant…Neji is fucked!

**AN: **

**Kage, doing **_**research**_**? Odd, he doesn't seem the peeping type, especially not when he has Hinata… **

**Why'd the Hyuga doctors help Hinata, although they didn't in cannon? Well, Hiashi now realizes that he cares about Hinata, at least in this story,**

**Come on, you guys. My story, Children of the Cloud, has only two short chapters, but it already has 51 reviews! Come on, guys, this story has 11 chapters and 50k+ words! At least try to encourage me…**


	12. Chapter 12: Things Get Rough!

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**Also, I'm done with my NaruHina Christmas two-shot, plus lemons! I also added a third and fourth chapter of lemony goodness!**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**(Take out spaces) The rest of her clothes is same as cannon**

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**2/11/2010**

* * *

Chapter 12: Things Get Rough!

_Flashback…_

Kakashi put his Icha Icha book away before stepping into the office of Hiashi Hyuga.

"Good afternoon, Hiashi-sama." Kakashi said, opting to use the second-most respectful term to address the Hyuga Clan Head. Using Hyuga-sama would make him appear to be groveling, but using anything less could be considered disrespectful. Kakashi usually seemed distant and unconnected from social norm, but he knew how to act when he needed to. Getting on the shit list of one of the most powerful men in Konoha was not on Kakashi's to-do list…or bucket list, as it were.

Hiashi carelessly looked up from his younger daughter. "Stand up, Hanabi. Ah…Kakashi-san. To what do I owe the pleasure?" His words were neither warm nor cold. He had some respect for the former ANBU captain, and neither liked nor disliked him.

"It appears that I have your daughter on my genin team." Kakashi noted calmly. "It is necessary for me to inform you that, as a ninja, Hinata will face the risk on death on a regular basis. As Hinata is a member of the Main Family, I thought—"

"Fortunately, such thoughts are unnecessary." Hiashi interrupted. "The Hyuga Clan does not need a failure such as her. It is irrelevant to us whether she lives or dies."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed, but he replied calmly. "Glad to hear that there won't be a problem."

Hiashi either missed the sarcasm or ignored it. "Yes. If that is all…"

Kakashi nodded with disgust. "…I'll just be going, then."

_End Flashback_

* * *

"You look like you have something to say." Neji taunted.

Kage's eyes remained as cold as granite, dark-brown pools of ice. "I made a promise, written with my own blood."

_His eyes show complete confidence…_Neji thought. _There's no doubt in his mind that he will win. _He took a Juken stance. "That's what makes it all the more enjoyable; to watch your eyes as you begin to comprehend the futility of your actions."

Up in the stadium, Hiashi said to his younger daughter, "Watch. There are very few who have inherited such a strong Byakugan, like Neji has." _And your sister is most likely one of them…_

"Yes, father."

Kage tilted his head to the side. "Do you know what makes me dangerous? Almost anything I see, I can copy and adapt for my own use." Kage reached up and brought his red headband down to cover his eyes. He, too, took a Juken stance, with his left arm forwards and his right arm off to the side and low. He set his feet at a 57 degree angle from Neji.

Up in the competitors' box, Naruto succumbed to a laughing fit. He now knew what Kage had been doing over the last month.

"I would assume you understand what your teammate is doing." Shino stated. "Please enlighten us."

"Kage's bluffing, isn't he?" Shikamaru asked. "He can't actually think he can…He's insane!"

"Don't you know? Insane is just another word for brilliant." Naruto shook his head. "No…Neji is fucked. Watch."

No more words were exchanged as Neji and Kage faced off, neither moving. _He's bluffing. _Neji decided, and charged, sending a barrage of strikes at Kage.

As if he could see, Kage calmly blocked and parried all of Neji's strikes, and each contact let a trail of chakra into the air, a telltale sign of two Juken users locked in combat. Neji jumped backwards when he saw his attacks were being perfectly blocked and countered. "How?"

"All ninja can sense chakra to varying degrees." Kage said in a patronizing tone, a teacher advising a student. "Those who are very sensitive to other's chakra are known as sensor-nin. What are tenketsu but points where your body releases chakra? I have taken my ability to sense chakra to levels unseen before now. I do not need the Byakugan to see your tenketsu; I can locate them by the chakra they let off." Kage claimed. "Nor do I need eyes to know where you are; I can sense the location of your body by the chakra in your chakra coils."

"Im-Impossible!" Neji said. _I can't see enough of his face to get a read on him. The Byakugan doesn't really let the Hyuga see emotions or lies; instead we use it in an extremely advanced form of hellstromism, reading a person's subtle facial expressions, body language, and even pulse._

"Impossible as changing the role one was placed into at birth." Kage countered. "You have spent your entire shinobi career learning the art of Juken. I have spent the last thirty days learning to sense tenketsu and learning Juken. You believe the paths we walk, the paths we are born into, are unchanging? You believe that no matter how hard a person tries, he gain skills he was never destined to have?"

In a red, black, and gold blur, Kage dashed forwards and pressed two tenketsu located near Neji's right lung. He was out of Neji's reach before the Hyuga boy could hope to react. _With my Kokugan, I can see his tenketsu and chakra coils, and am fast enough to close off a couple and jump back before he can react. He's finished._

Kage rushed in to attack again, but the instant he was about to strike, Neji spun, releasing a dome of blue chakra. "Kaiten!" Kage was able to brace himself, but was still shot backwards.

Letting his body flip in midair, the black-haired boy landed on his hands and flipped onto his feet. He slid backwards from his momentum but came to a stop a few feet later. _Well, that hurt. I forgot about that little trick._

"Fa-father!" Hanabi gasped up in the spectator's stands. "That's your—"

"Yes." Hiashi replied solemnly. "Kaiten is the Main Branch's special technique, usually passed down to only the heir." _The theory is simple, but its execution is difficult. To have figured it out on his own…has the Main Branch been surpassed?_

The Hyuga boy stopped spinning and smirked. Neji twisted from side to side to loosen his muscles, trying to tell himself that the pain in his right side was a mere fluke. "You may have learned the basics of Juken, but you are nowhere near being a master." He spread his legs, taking a widened stance and turning both palms face-up. "Hakke Rokujuyon Sho (**Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms**)! Two pal—arrgh!"

"Kaiten." Before the twin blows could land, Kage spun and released a dome of his own chakra. Neji took the full brunt of the blow, and was blown onto his back.

Hiashi forced his mouth closed. _A branch member, learning Hakke Rokujuyon Sho? An outsider, learning Juken and Kaiten? If it was just Neji, I might not be so worried, but as it is…I may need to talk to Hinata about 'clan secrets.'_

Neji forced himself back onto his feet.

"Do you know what makes me dangerous? Anything I see, I can copy and adapt for my own use." Kage repeated. He took a widened stance; the exact same one Neji had used moments earlier. "Hakke: Innen no Jubaku **(Eight Trigrams: A Curse of Fate)**!"

Neji's eyes widened, and he did something that would have shocked himself ten minutes ago. "Proctor, I for—"

"Too late!" Kage lashed out at Neji, raining blurred strikes upon his body. Kage made sure to focus on Neji's arms and legs, avoiding strikes that would be lethal. There were only sixteen strikes, but each contained more intensity than the average Juken blow. When he was finished, Kage stopped and let Neji crumple to the ground. _That worked a lot better than I expected…he froze up, otherwise he probably would have been able to dodge it._

"Wh-What have you d-done to me?" Neji demanded. He was fully conscious, but his limbs felt like they had had molten metal in them. Even worse, he could not move them…at all.

Even now, Kage let no trace of emotion onto his face, not anger, not grim satisfaction, and most certainly not pity.

"Why, I give you no worse fate than the one you believe in. All this time, you have believed that a person's destiny has already been chosen. Well, I have just chosen your destiny. From this point on, you will never be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, just as your teammate Rock Lee. You should be grateful…your cousin is the only reason you are alive…although perhaps you would prefer otherwise."

"Winner, Kage." Genma announced.

Kage looked up into the stage. _Hinata-chan…did you see me? This was for you._

* * *

_In the infirmary…_

"How can you expect me to believe that?" Neji spat. It couldn't be true…it just couldn't! His father, sacrificing himself by choice? "Leave, or, I'll…I'll—"

"Do what?" Hiashi asked gently. "Look at yourself…you couldn't scratch an Academy student in your current condition."

Neji lashed out in anger, tapping a tenketsu in Hiashi's heart, one whose location Neji had memorized and did not need the Byakugan to see. He could barely move, but by some miracle, or curse, Neji hit the location perfectly and released the exact amount of chakra required to stop a man's heart.

Nothing happened.

"Look at yourself…with the Byakugan." Hiashi softly instructed.

Activating his kekkei genkai, Neji stared in horror as he looked at his hands. The chakra coil structure was completely scrambled. Where straight, orderly, parallel lines should have been, tangled knots took their places. Where bright, round tenketsu should have been dim, lumpy shapes were instead. The entropy extended all the way to his shoulders in both arms. His legs were in the exact some condition; it was no wonder Neji could barely move.

Hiashi watched the revulsion and utter dismay on Neji's face. _This is what Hinata's teammate meant when he said he was cursing Neji. Hyuga have strong, widened, and developed chakra coils in the arms, legs, and hands, due to our constant use of them. Taking advantage of the enlargened structures, Kage collapsed and scrambled the meridians of chakra…Neji will never be able to move chakra outside of his head or torso. Without the ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, his career as a shinobi is finished._

* * *

Hinata idly prodded her fingers together as she smiled. _Kage-kun…how? You've progressed so much in such a small amount of time. I want to be by your side, not behind you. I want to be right next to you, when you fight, confident that you will protect my as I protect you. I'm going to get stronger, my kimi, so that I can always be there for you, just as you will always be there for me._

"See, forehead, I told you Kage-kun would win!"

"Shaddup, Ino-buta! I never argued with you on that!"

Hinata sighed. Somehow, Ino and Sakura had become friends again, mainly due to the fact that they no longer liked the same boy.

* * *

_Flashback…_

"Hey, girl, what's up?" A cheerful voice said.

Hinata looked up from the magazine she was reading to see Ino at the door.

"Oh, hey Ino." Hinata said despondently, still concerned about the way there were between her and Kage when her boyfriend left.

"Aw, what's this? Why are you so down?" Ino said compassionately.

Hinata shrugged. No way in hell was she going to tell the village gossip about her and Kage-kun. "Oh, I guess I'm just d-disappointed that I l-lost to Neji." She lied.

"Is it true you had a broken leg?" Ino asked quickly. Hinata nodded. "Then you did, like, amazing! I mean, Neji was last years Rookie of the Year, yeah? I bet you could have beaten him if you weren't fighting with a broken leg." Ino gushed.

"Ano, maybe." Hinata admitted. _I know I could have beaten him._ She thought. "So what's up w-with you, Ino?"

The blonde shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. Choji and I didn't make it to the third stage, and Shikamaru isn't training at all. So we're actually not doing anything…hey, Hinata, I can ask you something?"

Hinata snapped out of her daze. _Like I don't already know what it is._ "Sure, Ino, a-ask away."

"Do you think…" Ino looked down. "…do you think that Kage-kun likes me?"

Hinata chose her words very carefully. "Kage-kun isn't r-really the type to wear his e-emotions on his sleeve, but I don't th-think he hates you."

Ino frowned. "Not like that. I was asking if he _like_ likes me."

Hinata suppressed a sigh. "Ino, has he ever expressed any r-romantic interest in you?" She asked innocently.

The blonde girl tilted he head to the side. "Um…"

"Because the only think that I know K-Kage-kun likes to do is train, p-pull pranks, and eat s-sushi." Hinata continued blandly, before thinking in her head: _kiss me, plot revenge on various people, and try to talk to Ryu Oni._ "I've h-heard that b-boys develop at a slower rate than girls, e-emotionally speaking. Maybe all y-you can be for him is a f-friend, for now."

Ino's face visibly fell. "Oh. Well, thanks for being honest with me, Hinata." Together, they chatted about less significant matters, and eventually Ino left, claiming she had to go home for a shift at her family's flower shop.

Only once Ino was out of the room did Hinata allow herself to smile. _No one gets to take away my kimi._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Alright, Shino Aburame and Kankuro Subaku!"

"Proctor, I forfeit!" Kankuro shouted. _The plan's been changed; I can't let them see Karasu!_

"Huh!" The other contestants wondered. _Well, that's way too suspiscious…_Naruto thought. _Some people wait years for the chance to become a chunin, and this kid is just giving it up like that? I don't think it's because he's afraid to fight Shino…but then, why?_

"Man, this is such a drag. Now my match is next." Shikamaru complained, leaning on the metal handrail. "Actually, that puppet kid may have it right. Proctor, I—"

_Oh no you don't Shikamaru!_ Naruto thought. "Alright, Shikamaru, go for it!" He said encouragingly, and shoved Shikamaru over the railing.

* * *

_Earlier that month…The Shinobi Council chambers…_

"The news our informant has given us has been most helpful…" Sarutobi mused. "But can we trust everything she said?"

"Everything she said was absolutely true…or she _believed_ it to be absolutely true." Hiashi confirmed, having used his Byakugan to study the informant's body language, pulse, and several other physiological symptoms. "She did not omit anything, either."

"She gave no trace of lying." Tsume added. "Her scent was honest."

"Perhaps we should approve her request of amnesty. It would certainly be useful to get some fresh blood into Konoha's shinobi…" Chouza suggested, subtly nudging his friend to wake up.

Shikaku snorted as he felt an elbow in his ribs, waking him up. "Huh? Troublesome…Meh, why'd this girl have to come and rat out on her home village all the sudden. Not that I'm complaining." He added hastily. "But it's suspicious… and, well, troublesome."

Kakashi, a temporary guest speaker, cleared his throat as he looked over the top of his book. "Erm…actually, one of my students appeared to have confronted her originally. Eh, I'm not exactly sure how or why he did it, though."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Naruto? Naruto found the connection between her and Orochimaru?"

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively. "No, the other boy." He said lazily.

Inochi looked up at this. "Kage? The orphan boy? Mr. I-will-take-vengance-on-the-wicked? Mr. Rawr-if-you-touch-my-friends-I'll-kill-you? Speaking of which, did any of you guys see his face right after that Branch Hyuga brat almost killed Hiashi's daughter? If I didn't know better, I'd say your little girl is growing up quickly, Hiashi. Maybe you might want to prepare for grandchildren, sometime soon." He joked, but the humor flew over the Hyuga's head.

Hiashi glared at the man. "This is rich, coming from a man whose daughter is a shameless fangirl, who worships the very boy we are talking about. I raised my daughter the right way, she does not fanatically worship others based on misconceptions or perceived traits. Besides, you know as well as I do that the Hyuga Council would never allow the clan heir to marry out of the clan." _Besides, I'm sure Kage's feelings, if they even exist, are completely one-sided. Hinata is fully focused on becoming stronger so that she can become a more suitable clan heir. _

Inochi bristled at the jab at his parenting skills. "Oh, yes, you did such a great job of raising your daughter." He said sarcastically. "You regularly beat her into the ground during training and never showed her any form of support. And don't deny that you considered putting the Branch Family Cursed seal on her, at one point or another."

Hiashi shot to his feet. No verbal barb hurt more than those that were the truth. "How dare—"

"ENOUGH!" The Hokage roared. "We are not here to debate child-rearing methods!" Sarutobi glared at the two clan heads, and they both sat down. "We are some of the most influential men and women of Konoha, not bickering children. Now, our informant has given us vital information of several of Orochimaru's bases. It would be unseemly to admit her into the ninja ranks so quickly, as that would encourage other Hidden Villages to try to send in double agents under the guise of similar circumstances. However, it would not be right to reward the girl with punishment or imprisonment. I formally propose that the girl be given housing in Konoha, but under ANBU surveillance for one year. If everything goes smoothly, she may be integrated into Konoha's shinobi program, if she wishes. Those who wish this measure to pass say aye."

And so, by a 6-0 vote, with one abstention, the measure passed, and Konoha's latest informant officially joined the ranks of the leaf.

* * *

To everyone's great surprise, Shikamaru had surrendered right as he captured Temari in his Shadow Possession jutsu. Afterwards, Dosu Kinuta still hadn't shown up, so Naruto won by default. The Sasuke vs Gaara fight was currently in progress.

Naruto and Kage were with the other spectators, along with Shikamaru, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Kakashi, Lee, and Guy.

"I can't believe you trained Sasuke-teme." Kage groused. "It looks like you trained him more than you ever trained us."

"Hey, hey, it's not my fault the council made be train Sasuke." Kakashi protested. "Even so, I pretty much trained him the same way I trained you guys: told him to do something and left. It's just because of his Sharingan that he can pick up taijutsu and ninjutsu in a single day."

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened as he watched Sasuke prepare a new jutsu. "Wait…Kakashi-sensei, is that…?"

"Yes. Chidori, One Thousand Birds. Its incredible speed, coupled with the large amount of lightning chakra, allows it to become a weapon that can cut through almost anything." Kakashi said, proud of the jutsu he had created but slightly miffed he had been forced to teach it to another.

_Huh, so speed is the answer._ Kage thought, recalling a jutsu he had tried to create a while back.

"In fact—" Guy started, but was cut off by a loud scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! THIS IS…MY BLOOD!" Gaara screamed, letting off wild youkai like fireworks let off sparks.

Kage and Naruto immediately tensed, knowing exactly what Gaara was, now. Suddenly, things began to make sense.

"Nii-san, he's a—" The black-haired boy looked over to Shikamaru, Ino, Lee, Kiba, and Sakura; those who did not know what Naruto also was. "…a 'bottle.'" He concluded lamely, but Naruto understood.

"The water must not be allowed to seep out." Naruto continued, looking at Kakashi, whose single eye was widened.

"B-Bottle?" Ino stammered, looking in fear at the odd, purple tinged arm of sand that had erupted from the sand dome. "Kage-kun, what's going, what's…on…" Ino fought a yawn, but fell asleep.

"Hinata-chan!" Kage called. "Yes. Byakugan!" Hinata gasped. "There's a g-genjutsu!"

"Kai!" Kakashi, Guy, Hinata, Kage, and Naruto were all able to dispel the genjutsu, and resisted falling asleep.

"Huh…things are going to get messy." Kakashi said, putting away his Icha Icha book.

* * *

"What? But how could she have not known…" Sarutobi gasped.

"Kukukuku…The girl who defected? Do you think I would share my plans with my lowest pawns?" The Kazekage laughed. "You always were a fool…Sarutobi-sensei!"

Sarutobi's eyes widened. "Orochimaru! You—"

"Yes, kukuku. And now, it is over." He plunged the kunai into his former sensei's neck.

The Hokage's form shimmered to reveal a log.

"Didn't I ever teach you anything? It's not over until it's over." Sarutobi murmured. "You never were any good at Shogi, you never understood the worth of a pawn." _Even though she didn't know about the invasion, we still learned a lot._ "Besides, I'm still Hokage. Don't underestimate me, just because I'm old!"

* * *

"Kage-kun, behind you!" Hinata called out, and Kage smoothly thrusted behinds himself at an upward angle. Despite being at a blind angle, he knew he had killed his assailant as he felt the satisfactory sensation of his blade passing through the bottom of a jaw and coming out the top of a skull.

"Heh, you guys are like genin!" Naruto taunted against his own opponent. The blonde tried to take advantage of his opponent's momentary enragement, but the Sound-nin quickly recovered, and tried to sweep Naruto's legs out from under him. Using the environment to his advantage, Naruto stepped to the side, and the man had to pull back his kick or risk breaking his shin on the cement bench seats. "Even worse than genin!" Naruto ducked under a swipe by a kunai, and firmly planted a knee into the man's sternum, hearing a rewarding snap. The man's immediately paled, and Naruto quickly made a shadow clone. They charged the man; the clone snap-kicked sideways, but the man was able to trap the leg against the side of his body. The real Naruto jumped over the shadow clone, grabbing their opponent's neck and violently twisting to the side. The man crumpled to the ground, and the Kage Bushin dispelled, its task complete.

Kage glanced around. There were two bodies on the floor next to Hinata. There was no blood or any signs of wounds, but neither was breathing. _Yep, that's my girlfriend._ Kage thought proudly. Guy and Kakashi were each fighting several Sound-nin at once, and winning. Throughout the stadium, other Leaf ninja had resisted the genjutsu and were fighting Sand and Sound ninjas with varying degrees of success.

Kakashi plunged a kunai through a man's eye. "Hinata, go get Kage and Naruto…go release Shikamaru from the genjutsu, as well. You now have an A-rank mission. Summoning Jutsu!" Slicing his pinky on his kunai, Kakashi summoned a nin-dog. _Ug, well that certainly wasn't sanitary! What if that guy had some disease or something? Ah, fuck it…_ "This is Pakkun. Go get Sasuke; he's completely outmatched against Gaara. He may be an asshole, but he's an asshole of the Leaf."

"Hai!" The three replied. Hinata went over to Shikamaru and started doing a handseal set to release genjutsu.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, I got it." Kage walked over and violently kicked Shikamaru in the ribs, not hard enough to break anything but certainly with enough force to cause pain. Shikamaru grunted in pain and sat up. "No loafing around, Shikamaru. I know you're awake. It's time to be serious."

"Gah, troublesome. Yeah, yeah, I'm moving. Ungh, why me?"

* * *

"Hey, hey, pick up the pace!" Pakkun sniffed the air. "There are eight, no, nine ninja following us. Assume they are non-friendly."

"How fast are they catching up?" Naruto asked.

"At this rate, they'll catch up to us within three minutes!" Pakkun replied. "The objective is over five minutes of travel away at our current relative paces, and still moving."

"Damn, we'll have to ambush them. Troublesome." Shikamaru noted. "Actually, they're probably over chunin level in skills on average. Whoever we send will only be able to delay them…and will most likely die."

"Hmmph. Nii-san, Hinata-chan, you two go on. Shikamaru and I will hang back and do what needs to be done." Kage ordered as he and Shikamaru abruptly stopped. "Take care."

"You too, nii-san."

"Be safe, Kage-kun." Hinata looked at her boyfriend for a long moment, then jumped off.

* * *

"Those guys are still coming closer!" Pakkun noted after several minutes of traveling.

Naruto cursed. "Shikamaru's not the type to betray a friend, and Kage would rather chop his arm off than let one of us die! They just haven't hit the trap yet." He said confidently.

* * *

"Kagemane no jutsu!" Shikamaru caught the pursuers in his shadow, rendering them immobile. _Eh…I'm almost out of chakra, any day now, Kage!_

The plan was simple: Shikamaru would catch the pursuers in his Shadow Possession Jutsu, and Kage would kill them while immobilized. Even a person who had a massive arsenal of jutsu would find his options limited if he couldn't form the necessary handseals. Shikamaru had done his part, but where was Kage? Shikamaru couldn't even sense him at all!

_Maybe he's not in place yet. I'll try to stall for time._ Shikamaru held up the tool he'd used to make false tracks. "Seriously? I'm surprised you guys actually fell for such an old-school trick. Troublesome. Why would you guys even bother trying to chase us down if you don't have a tracker."

"Enough mouth, kid." An Oto-nin grunted. "You can't keep this jutsu up forever. You're dead man walking, kid."

The lazy Nara did not let the banter distract him. "Eight? But there should be one more…" Shikamaru drew eight shuriken. _Their friend will have to save them, revealing his location._ He threw them at the men.

In a clash of glinting metal, the projectiles were deflected. _There, in the tree!_ Shikamaru tried to stretch his shadow out, but failed. _I just don't have enough chakra, shit. You bastard, Kage…sticking me out here to dry._

"Heh, kid, looks like you're out of juice." One of the sound ninja taunted.

Shikamaru shrugged apathetically. _Man, I was supposed to be a mediocre ninja living a mediocre life. Marry a girl who wasn't super pretty, but not super ugly, either. Have two kids, first a girl, then a boy. Then I'd retire after the girl got married and my son could support himself, and live out the rest of my life happily playing Shogi. Then I'd die of old age, before my wife of course. Man, why'd I have to go and do something troublesome like this…_ His shadow drew back into its regular form.

The lead ninja grinned behind his mask, and the ninth ninja jumped out of the tree. "Well, kid, time to die."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and waited for death.

* * *

"Its Sasuke Uchiha, isn't it?" The Hokage panted. "That's who you want your next host to be."

Orochimaru shrugged ambivalently. "Perhaps. Actually, I was also considering Hinata Hyuga. Perhaps I could make a few modifications to the Byakugan, and make it even better than the Sharingan. If not, I'll just use her to breed my own clan of loyal Byakugan warriors. You see; fate is on my side, Sarutobi-_sensei_. Both Sasuke and Hinata survived, even though the chance of that was one percent. They will both be strong, healthy hosts."

"You disgust me, my former student." Sarutobi spat. "You've lost all trace of humanity."

The Snake Sannin smiled. "Humanity is but a barrier that held me back. I am no longer bound by such foolish constraints."

* * *

"I don't need your so-called help, dobe." Sasuke growled, lying prone on the ground. The partially activated Curse Mark was apparent over half his body.

Naruto looked at the Uchiha in distaste. "Shut it, Uchiha. You're in no position to deny help. Nee-chan, can you?"

Hinata nodded over Sasuke reluctantly. _Hmm, let's see…the Curse Mark is leaking purple chakra into his system here, here, and there. If I can just stop the flow of chakra…_ Hinata set to work, and the black marks of Orochimaru's Juinjutsu began to recede.

"Get your hands off me, you pale-eyed whore!" Sasuke spat. Hinata sighed and tapped him on the forehead, rendering him unconscious. _You have no idea how lucky you are that Kage-kimi did not hear that. Well, I still have to subdue the Curse Mark._

* * *

"**Your blood will be DELICIOUS!"** Gaara screamed madly. **"This…pain, it makes the blood so much better! Give me more; Mother will be even more pleased with your blood!"**

"I don't want to fight you." Naruto said cautiously, eyeing Gaara's form. About half of his body seemed to be made of sand, laced with odd purplish vein-like structures. One eye was like a four-pointed star, a shocking display of yellow and purple. _Why is he so unstable…it's almost like too much of his demon is leaking through his seal at once. _"We're similar—" Naruto tried to explain, but Gaara flung his transformed arm out. Naruto flinched and dropped into a ready position, but the sand claw was not aimed at him.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried out. She had been too focused on her work and the claw of sand pinned her to a tree.

"**If you won't fight me, I'll MAKE you fight me! The sand won't release her unless you defeat me."** Gaara crowed, retracting his arm but leaving the claw on the end to pin Hinata to the tree. The sand of his arm reformed into another claw. **"Not only that, but it'll get tighter and tighter as time passes, and eventually the pressure will crush her!"**

"Damn you…" Naruto muttered. _Kage's not here, but I guess I can kick ass in his place._ "You want a fight, huh? Two sayings come to mind: 'Be careful what you wish for'; and 'Don't bite off more than you can chew'!"

* * *

_Eh, why am I not dead?_ Shikamaru wondered after several seconds. He opened his eyes by a slit, and was shocked by what he saw. Each of the Sound-nin was impaled by one Kage each, all in an immediately lethal point. Nine targets, nine Kages, nine swords, nine strikes, and nine deaths.

One by one, the black-haired boys withdrew their swords, letting the limp bodies crumple to the ground. Eight of them disappeared in smoke, leaving the original to glare amusedly at Shikamaru's shock. "What, you thought I ditched on you?"

Shikamaru double-checked his jaw; he was pretty sure it was hanging wide open. _What the hell? But Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu is an A-rank kinjutsu…I thought only Naruto had the chakra levels to do that! And how the hell does even Naruto have Kage-level chakra reserves?_ "Nah, thinking is too troublesome." _Even now, Kage is hiding his presence so well…it's like my senses are lying to me and he's not even there! He may not be a match for Jonin level ninja, but sneak up on anyone and stick a sword through their heart…or throat…or head…_ "Eh, go catch up with your teammates. I'm all out of chakra; I'd just slow you down."

Kage nodded and dashed off. _You have no idea of just how right you are. _Once he was sure he was out of Shikamaru's range of vision, he closed his eyes, activated his Kokugan, and became a blur.

Back in the clearing, Shikamaru looked at the corpses. _If they hadn't tried to invade our village, they'd still be alive. They are responsible for their own deaths._ Although they were the first deaths he had seen, Shikamaru knew better than to waste time and concentration on compassion for the guilty.

After all, that would be troublesome.

* * *

"Sennen Goroshi: Konoha's Most Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto said triumphantly, stabbing a kunai into Gaara's…ass. The semi-sand-tanuki whipped around, slamming a large arm into the boy, but he poofed into smoke.

"Hah hah hah." Naruto laughed from another branch. "…Boom."

With massive force, the explosive tag wrapped around the handle exploded violently, covering Gaara in smoke.

Kage landed silently next to Naruto. "Where's Hinata-chan?" He half asked, half demanded. At any other time, Naruto would have made a joke, but he was dead serious right now. _Nii-san must have finished up with those guys._

"Trapped to a tree by a claw of sand." He said, eyeing the cloud of smoke. "Go rescue her. Shikamaru's opponent, Temari is watching close by. Not sure what she's here for. Go, now! I can take care of Gaara!"

Kage nodded, and jumped off. Naruto put his hands together once more. He reached deep within himself and channeled a large mass of chakra, so much that the air around him sizzled with a blue glow. "Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" He formed a thousand clones. "Shihohappo Shuriken **(Shuriken from All Directions)!** Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan **(Naruto Uzumake Two Thousand Strike Barrage)**!"

_I'm still not recovered from the explosion…all I can do is block!_ Gaara/Shukaku thought, raising an arm to block the projectiles. Even so, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of strikes that came afterward. The container of the Ichibi was sent hurtling into the ground, creating a depression a few meters deep. An orange figure landed on his feet, right next to the hole.

"**Why?" **Gaara gasped. **"Why do you fight so hard for others? What could you possibly gain from helping others? How can you faith in others; they will only betray you, try to hurt you."**

Naruto shook his head sadly. "I do not know what you have been through, but they are my precious people. Fighting for others does not make me weak; no, it makes me stronger than you could possibly imagine. Because I am willing to push myself past any limit, accept any personal sacrifice, ignore the boundaries of what can and cannot be done…I am strong." He mused. _Maybe…I could have been just like that. If I hadn't found my precious people…Kage-nii-san, Hinata-nee-chan, old man Hokage, even Kakashi-sensei…maybe I would turn to hatred, instead of love. _

"**NO! I won't lose to someone like you!"** Gaara slumped over for a moment, and Naruto sweatdropped. _Did he just fall asleep? Ah, I'll take what I can get. I'm almost out of chakra, and for me, that's definitely saying something._

Then Gaara's body expanded massively in a giant burst of sand. **"Hahahaha! I'm finally out!"** An inhuman voice screamed.

* * *

"Hinata-chan!" Kage came to a halt in front of the sand claw that was constricting the Hyuga heiress.

Hinata was not in good shape. The sand was rapidly constricting around her torso, and the fuinjutsu-modified jacket was not much help, as it was designed to redistribute pressed focused on a single point, not crushing force from all directions. Even worse, Hinata was in a state of panic. Her head was darting around frantically, and Kage noted with extreme concern that she was hyperventilating. Just like a boa constrictor tightens its grip every time its prey releases its breath, the sand was constricting more and more every time Hinata exhaled.

"Hinata-chan, look at me. _Look at me, my hime._" He insisted in a calm yet firm tone. He gently set one hand on the side of her face and held her head still, looking into her lavender eyes.

"Kage-kimi, it hurts…s-so much." Hinata stammered.

"I know, Hime, just hold on. I need you to stay calm, got it?" Kage soothed. _Yeah, that'll really work. _The sarcastic part of his mind thought, but he ignored it. _Um, shit, uh, damn, um…_ "Hinata-hime, try to remember the location of each of the 361 tenketsu. Please, just try?"

Hinata nodded and shakily began listing locations on the human body in her head. _Primary t-tenketsu are c-center lower s-stomach, two on each side of each l-lung, one on the solar plexus…_ Her breathing began to slow as she focused less and less on the pain of her predicament. She closed her eyes so that she could focus better.

"Good." Kage cooed. "Keep it up, Hinata-chan." He quickly blazed through a short set of hand seals. **Katon: Houka Ryuusei ****(Fire Release: Fire Stream)**. Kage thought mentally, activating his Kokugan so that he could work faster and see better. _If I make the fire too strong, I could end up burning Hinata-hime, but if I make it too weak, I won't remove enough sand in time and she'll be crushed!_ Refusing to contemplate any longer on the results of failure, Kage began to blow a stream of fire onto the sand, slowly turning it to glass. As soon as a decent layer of glass formed, Kage smashed it with the length of his sword, still in the scabbard, and continued to blow flames from his mouth.

So focused were he and Hinata that they barely registered the massive fight that was going on around them.

* * *

_No way can I beat the One-Tail on my own…but hey, just like they say, fight fire with flames!...or something like that…_ Channeling a thread of youkai, Naruto went through some handseals. "Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram! Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Jutsu)**!"

In a gigantic flash, the Kyuubi appeared; a snarling mass of orange fur and fangs and claws. "Hey, your no going to fall asleep on me, are ya?"

"**Hmph. Actually kit, I was thinking of just dispelling myself."** The Kyuubi rumbled. **"After all, I'm tired and cramped up. Why should I help you, brat?"**

"Because if I die, you die too!" Naruto screamed.

"**Nah, you're like the little cockroach that's always skittering around. Annoying as hell, yet never seems to die." **The giant demon fox tilted his head to the side as he looked at his one-tailed counterpart. **"Oh, is that you, Shukaku? Haven't seen you since…well, since you got sealed into a tea kettle. Then Nibi and I were all lonely for a while, no one to fight. So…how's the claustrophobia been treating you?"**

"**SILENCE! I'll, I'll, I'll Kill You!" **The sand behemoth roared.

The Kyuubi looked vaguely amused. **"You couldn't manage that when we were both free…how do you think you'll do, with your power being filtered through a faulty seal, compared to me, functioning outside of my original seal? Besides, you can be hurt, while I'll just dispel and return to my seal." **He noted, and then spoke to Naruto. **"Ya know what, brat; I'll help you out, just this time. Hold on, it'd be such a shame if I died because you fell off me and died."**

Before Naruto could respond, the Kyuubi was dashing left and right, dodging massive Fuuton blasts like a child playing dodgeball. **"Fail. I don't suppose you're a fire-type, are you, kit? More of a wind-type, as I recall. Oh well. Kit, you need to find a way to wake up the medium. Doing so will cause the Shukaku to be reabsorbed back into the seal. Got it?"**

Naruto didn't have the time to respond, or even wonder how the Kyuubi knew about Gaara's seal, because the giant fox zigzagged forwards, latching on to the Ichibi with fangs and claws. Naruto leaped off the head of his demon, going through a short set of handseals. "Fuuton: Tei Dangan!"

The sand surrounding Gaara's sleeping form tried to form a protective wall, but the wind jutsu was just strong enough to blow a head-sized chunk out of the sand. Jumping forwards, Naruto punched Gaara right in the face.

"**What? Nooo, but I just got out!"** The Shukaku screamed in agony. His 'skin' became to crack and shatter, looking like the side of a canyon. The dystrophy continued until all of his body crumbled into sand leaving Naruto and Gaara to fall to the forest floor.

_Hmph…so much potential; even without my chakra. Kit, you may challenge __Rikudo Sennin's legacy, one day. 'Course, I'm not gonna tell you that, so it won't go to your head._ The Kyuubi mused. **"Well, it's been nice and all catching up with old acquaintances, but I think I'll go take a nap."** He returned to Naruto's seal. Naruto found himself falling through the air, but landed into a roll.

Gaara weakly pushed himself off the ground, but failed as he collapsed back on to his front. Naruto was crouching and panting heavily, but shakily forced himself back to his feet on his second try. He slowly walked towards Gaara.

"I will not allow my existence to cease. St-Stay away from me!" He protested, but Naruto got even closer, clearly in massive pain.

"Why, Why do you go so far for others?" Gaara asked weakly.

"I told you already. Caring for my precious people…affirms my own existence. I, too, know the pain of not being wanted, of being all alone. Look." With shaking hands, Naruto lifted up his shirt to reveal the seal on his stomach. Gaara gasped, and Naruto continued. "Yes, I also have a demon within me. I was hated, just like you, but maybe you could consider yourself lucky. Unlike you, I got to feel every punch, suffer every stab, taste every burn, receive every blow, and even die for a few seconds. For a while, I thought I was doomed to a life of hatred…but then I found others. First, it was just my nii-san. Then my nee-chan, and my jiji, and my sensei. They saved me from the hell of being alone…they acknowledged my existence…that's why they're all important to me."

Gaara's eyes widened as he recalled what his uncle, Yashamaru, once said: _There will by those who will stand beside you…if you are important to each other, you will always watch over each other with love._ A single tear fell from the corner of his eye. "The girl…it's been too long. I'm….sorry."

Kankuro and Temari landed next to Gaara, and Kage landed next to Naruto. Kankuro and Temari were both in pretty bad shape, one being recently poisoned and the other exhausted. Kage was relatively fresh; he had not been hit once in his fight with Neji, and had used only a small percentage of his chakra so far.

Naruto glanced over at Kage. As usual, his face held no expression. "Quick and painless or slow and nasty?" He calmly asked the Sand Siblings. To him, they were as good as dead. His fire affinity put him at an extreme advantage over the girl, and boy seemed to have lost his puppet.

Naruto shook his head, immediately regretting the action as his skull pounded painfully. "N-No. Let them go, Kage."

"But they—"

"Let them go." Naruto repeated. "They've been through a lot. I'm sure something like this won't happen again, _right?_"

Kage snorted. _Like I haven't heard that before._ "Fine. Spilling any more blood will just cause the scent to stick to me even more. But something like this…" He gestured around to the massive deforestation caused by the Biju. "…will most definitely happen again, unless redhead gets his seal fixed. I mean, seriously, I can tell that the psychosomatic barrier is faulty just by glancing at…okay, why are you three looking at me like that?" Kage asked warily, eyeing Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro.

"Can you—" Temari wetted her lips and tried again. "Can you fix it? The seal?" Deep down, she wanted her little brother back. She could remember the days back when Gaara was a sweet little boy who always carried his teddy bear around.

Kage's eyes narrowed. "Gimme one good reason why I should do that. Why don't I just let you three go back to Suna, where the seal will eventually malfunction and the Shukaku will escape, wrecking havoc on your home country? In fact, I think that would be a fair bit of poetic justice, you helped destroy our village, and by not helping you I am destroying yours."

_Did something happen to Hinata? Damn it, I can't read nii-san when he's closed off like this. Regardless, it isn't really Gaara's fault._ "Just do it, nii-san. Gaara…is like me. The only reason why he's murderous is because of the Shukaku's influence. Shukaku is the one who tried to kill Hinata-nee-chan, not Gaara. Isn't that the worst punishment you could give him; to rob him of all control in the outside world?" Naruto pleaded.

Kage face didn't change, but he nodded. "You two, lay Gaara on his back and step at least…15 feet back." The two complied.

Kage cautiously approached the youngest son of the Kazekage, keeping an eye on his siblings. He went through 62 seals before slapping his palm over Gaara's forehead. "Shisho Fuin **(Four Tetragrams Seal)**." A jagged diamond shaped box appeared around the symbol, meaning love, on Gaara's forehead. Gaara immediately fell asleep, but nothing happened, a testament to the effectiveness of Kage's seal.

The black haired boy stood back up. _Not nearly as strong as the Yondaime's Hakke no Fuin Shiki __**(Eight Trigrams Seal)**__, but it'll do for something as relatively weak as the Ichibi. _"There. Now get the fuck out of my sight." The Sand Siblings wasted no time in complying.

Once they were gone, Hinata came out from behind a tree, an optimal place to attack the Sand Siblings, had it been necessary. Naruto tried to run towards Hinata to hug her, but fell down instead as his legs failed him. "Nee-chan, you're alive!" He exclaimed from the ground.

Hinata smiled at Kage, although Naruto couldn't see it. "Yes, Naruto-nii-san, sorry to d-disappoint you." She said sweetly, with just a tinge of sarcasm.

Kage laughed at Naruto's apologetic spluttering, and moved to stand in between Naruto and Hinata. Blocking Naruto's vision with his body, he swept Hinata into a kiss.

"Heh, I've been waiting to do that all day. So…wanna go out on another date, sometime?" He whispered, and laughed as his girlfriend fainted.

* * *

Much had happened over the last few days. It turned out that the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been killed fighting Orochimaru. Eventually, the joint invasion by Sound and Sand was repelled, and the latter discovered that the Yondaime Kazekage had been dead for a while. The Sand Village had surrendered to the Leaf, and a new treaty was being drafted. Certain factions were pushing for war with Suna, but Konoha was not in an advantageous position to declare war, as it was weakened and a third party might decide to conquer both the Leaf and Sand while they were both weakened.

Kage and Hinata were currently at a teashop. Technically, they were on a 'team meeting,' but they _accidentally_ told Naruto the wrong time. The time they told him was three hours later than the actually meeting time, and they knew Kakashi was always at least three hours late, so they knew they would get around three hours of couples time.

Their relationship was unconventional, to say the least. They both avoided the "L" word at all costs. Kage wasn't sure what he was feeling. Being a very collected person, Kage liked to think serious matters through. A romantic relationship was most definitely a serious matter; it was the strongest bond possible between two people. He just couldn't bring himself to tell Hinata what his true feelings for her were until he himself was 100% sure. Doing so would be a lie and a betrayal, both to Hinata and himself. What if it turned out later in their lives that they just didn't work out? They would both be crushed. Besides, Kage couldn't find the words to express his feelings. He just didn't know what to call it.

Frankly, Hinata was somewhat scared of the idea of love. Love was something she had received very little of. Her mother and father had loved her very much…until her mother died in childbirth when Hinata was still very young. Then her father had become unspeakably cold, and her new sister saw her as a rival to the position of Clan Head rather than a sister. Everyone whom Hinata had loved had ended up either dying or hating her. She wholeheartedly cherished the feelings she felt for Kage, but was hesitant to label it as love. Subconsciously, Hinata was afraid that if she told Kage she loved him, he would reject her.

Still, their relationship was quite a happy one. Currently Kage was telling Hinata a humorous story about what happened when Naruto tried to attempt a simple Fuinjutsu one day.

"So then, Naruto unseals the kunai he just put into the scroll, and I don't know what the hell he did, but he starts screaming, right? He pulls his hand out, and there's this glob of molten metal just sitting there in the palm of his hand! So then I start screaming, and then he keeps screaming, so we're just sat there screaming for a good ten seconds before baka-nii-san decides to let go of it!"

Kage and Hinata laughed. _I like it when she laughs. Hinata-hime laughs, then she realizes she's laughing, and then she gets that cute blush._ Kage's laugher slowly died off as he looked at the two suspicious shinobi sitting in at a table. Both wore long, black robes, with red clouds on them. They each had a wide bamboo hat, so their faces could not be seen.

The two stood up in unison and walked over to Kage and Hinata's table.

"Excuse me," the shorter one said, "but did you mention someone named Naruto? Would he happen to be Naruto _Uzumaki_?"

Kage glared at the two suspiciously. _I don't like that tone…I'm getting a bad feeling from these two. _"Perhaps. What's it to you?"

"I had heard he did well in the Chunin Exams, along with his teammates." The man replied smoothly. "I was wondering if I could meet this…boy."

_Well, that makes sense…certain people will try to hire ninja they think are skilled…._ Kage thought. _But wait, the only part of the Chunin Exams that were seen by the public was the Third Stage, and Naruto-nii-san won his match by default!_ "I don't know…it's kinda hard to trust a guy who can't show his face…"

"You know; he's right." The taller man said. "We are being awfully discourteous…" His bandaged hand reached up as if to remove his hat…but continued to reach back for the hilt of the massive sword strapped to his back.

Kage's eyes widened as he immediately reacted. Leaping over the table, he tackled Hinata, causing her chair to fall backwards. A second later, the massive bandaged sword smashed through the table and chairs, right where Kage and Hinata were an instant ago.

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone else in the teashop was a civilian, and as such they all screamed and ran outside with varying degrees of terror, including the employees.

Hinata had her Byakugan activated before she hit the floor. Studying the attacker's chakra coils, she gasped. These two were incredibly strong! They were strong enough to be the Kage of a village, if they wished!

Wordlessly, Kage got up and faced the shorter man, while Hinata stood up to face the taller opponent. This way they were back to back, and optimized their chance of success. With the Gentle Fist, Hinata stood a much better chance against someone who was a melee specialist. Similarly, Kage could get up close and personal with a ninjutsu or genjutsu using opponent, forcing them to focus on dodging and preventing them from making seals.

It was a good plan…had they been facing anyone else. Like many plans, it backfired within two seconds.

Kage and his opponent stood watching each other, analyzing attire, stance, and equipment. Neither made a move, but waited for the other to strike first. Kage was leery of attacking before he knew exactly how fast his opponent would reaction, lest he open himself up to a counter-strike. His opponent seemed content to wait for him to make the first move. Kage refused to fall for the bait as he watched his opponent's torso. It was easily to feint with the eyes, but it was far more difficult to make it appear as if your body weight was moving in one direction when it really wasn't.

Hinata cautiously studied her opponent, particularly his strange, wrapped weapon. _Something's very wrong…_ To her Byakugan, it appeared to be a void, not as if the space was empty, but like the space ceased to exist. A black hole where something should be but isn't, not even air.

Hinata tried to strike out at the man using Juken, but he blocked her hand with the massive flat of the blade. Hinata gasped as she felt a large decrease in her chakra, and jumped back. She sucked on the end of her finger, which was bleeding just slightly. _What? It's like the sword just sucked out my chakra!_

The man grinned, revealing pointed teeth surrounded by blue skin. "Do you like it? Samehada eats chakra _and _blood." He said gleefully. "It doesn't slice, it shaves!"

Hinata mentally winced. _Juken is completely useless on him…all he needs to do is keep the sword close to my hands and I'm done…._

"Switch with me." She told Kage, and they rotated to switch opponents.

Kage studied his new opponent. The man smiled nastily. "Boy, I'm not even going to bother fighting you? Itachi, are you done?"

Kage suppressed his immense shock as random bits and pieces of information flitted through his head. Some of it came from rumor, and other bits from scrolls containing the village's S-rank secrets (that Kage stole and read, of course). _Itachi Uchiha, considered to be the best ninja the Uchiha clan ever produced. Graduated as Rookie of the Year at age 7, at age 8 he fully mastered all three tomoe of the Sharingan. Became a chunin at age 10, and ANBU Captain at 13. Fuck…committed the Uchiha Clan Massacre at 14…under the orders of, ah, fuck it, gotta focus!_

Decided that Itachi was a far bigger threat than his parter, Kage whipped around to double team him with Hinata. _All we can do is escape…_ To his horror, Itachi had his Sharingan activated and was staring into Hinata's eyes, who was frozen in place by some unknown force.

"Yes, Kisame. I have the location of the Kyuubi." Itachi replied in a monotone. "There is no longer any need for there two."

Kage then did something, very, _very_, very stupid. Direct eye contact with the Sharingan could put someone into a trance-like state. Oftentimes, the hypnosis would be so strong that the only way to break it would be to get the user to cancel the technique…or get them to transfer it to someone else. Kage knew he had no chance of beating Itachi, so in a split-second decision, he stepped in between Itachi and Hinata, meeting his dark-brown eyes with Itachi's Sharingan-red eyes.

For a split second, Kage thought he saw a triangular blade shape in Itachi's eyes before the world span and dissolved around him. Kage found himself in a strange realm, fixed to a wooden cross with Itachi in front of him, holding a single-edged katana.

_Genjutsu? _Kage thought, pulsing his chakra. Nothing happened. Panicking, Kage channeled chakra to his eyes, to try to activate his Kokugan to see through the illusion. Still, nothing happened.

Itachi pushed the sword into Kage's side and impaled him. The boy cried out in pain.

"This is not a genjutsu; this is Tsukuyomi. In this dimension, I control time and space." Itachi intoned, pulling the blade out. Kage gritted his teeth in agony, but to his surprise, the wound began to heal…also giving him incredible pain.

"For the next 72 hours, you will be continuously impaled with this katana."

Kage refused to give Itachi the satisfaction of hearing another scream. Again and again and again, Itachi stabbed him.

Sometimes he went for the kidneys. Other times he eviscerated Kage and let his intestines hang out. Kage lost track of time, there was only pain.

Pain. The sound of metal entering flesh. Pain. The terrible feeling of being healed, only to be wounded again. Pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, Itachi spoke.

You have 71 hours, 59 minutes, and 56…is something funny?" Itachi asked calmly.

Kage was snickering softly to himself. "Actually, yes. This may not be an ordinary genjutsu, but the damage you do to my body still isn't real, just the pain is." He realized. "You intend to crush my willpower, my fighting spirit, with mere pain. There must be a limit to how long you can keep this up…and when you drop it, I'll be ready to kick your ass. No amount of pain is gonna keep me down." The boy said smugly, but the beads of sweat on his face belied his efforts to hold onto sanity.

Itachi frowed. _Hmmm…interesting. He seems to understand the basic principle of Tsukuyomi, even though he still doesn't know much about it. Still, I have to keep up my façade, keep pretending I have betrayed the leaf village. How can I put this boy down, without killing him? I would have just used a serious ninjutsu, if I wanted that. Oh, I know…_

"I see." Itachi stated calmly. "In this world, I can control the actions of others, as well. You should there are more kinds of pain than just physical pain. To show you, I'll bring a friend into this realm…or shall I say, your friend." He closed his eyes, appearing to focus, and another cross rose out of the ground, with Hinata on it.

"K-Kage-kun?" Hinata whimpered in fear. "W-What's going o-on?"

Suddenly, Kage lost control of his body as Itachi released him from the cross. Itachi handed him the sword, and Kage's arm moved of its own will. Despite how hard he tried, Kage could not stop his hand from grasping the hilt of the sword and walking in front of Hinata. _It's not real; this world is just an illusion!_ Kage desperately tried to say, but his mouth would not move. _Wait, what is he…_

_No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOO! _But Kage's arm moved on its own_, _stabbing the blade through Hinata. The poor girl screamed in terror and pain, her body frantically buckling. "AAAAAHHHHH! KAGE-KUN, W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Acting of its own accord, Kage's hand pulled back, and the tip of the katana exited Hinata's body with a wet squelch. Kage was then forced to impale a different place on his girlfriend's body. His mind reeled in anguish at the act he was being forced to commit, made worse by the fact that he couldn't even explain himself. But what was worst was the look of absolute terror and betrayal he saw in Hinata's pale lavender eyes.

_I'm sorry, I can't control myself!_ But Kage couldn't even control his mouth enough to say the words. Instead, his mouth moved, and his voice came out cold. "71 hours, 58 minutes, and 55 seconds left, my hime."

* * *

Kage slid his body in between Hinata's and Itachi's, looking Itachi straight in the eyes. Suddenly, he gasped and stiffened, and two seconds later he fell to his knees, his katana clattering to the ground.

"Kage-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata cried, keeping an eye on Itachi but avoiding eye contact. The instant Itachi's eye contact had transferred to Kage, Hinata had broken free of her stasis.

Kage was trembling. "I'll, I'll, I'LL **KILL YOU!**" He roared as he shot to his feet, snatching up his sword. His eyes were screwed tight in fury, and a mirror image of his sword appeared in his left hand. He dashed to the missing-nin.

The shark-man raised a non-existant eyebrow. "I think you made him mad." He commented, watching the fight with amusement while not even trying to help, not that Itachi needed any.

Itachi calmly dodged the wild slashes Kage was making, not bothering to counter attack. _Fascinating…I definitely broke his spirit, but he seems to be fighting purely on his need for revenge. And how is he seeing me with his eyes closed?_ Itachi ducked under a horizontal double-sword swipe and slammed his palm into the genin's right ribcage, feeling at least two ribs crack.

Kage was not slowed down in the slightest; he was lost to the world. Pain, exhaustion, fear, anxiety, fatigue, none of these concepts meant anything to him anymore. All that mattered was revenge.

Itachi let out a small "Tch" as a Kage drew a thin line of blood across the Uchiha's wrist, less than a scratch. _Hmm, he is quite fast…and he fights more like an experienced kenjutsu master than a learning genin. _Hearing a light chirping noise, Itachi quickly ducked to avoid a Raikiri. _How…unfortunate. I'll have to catch up with little brother some other time._

Kakashi followed through with the strike with a leg sweep, and Itachi jumped back. "Itachi Uchiha… S-rank missing-nin of Konoha. Come back to finish the deed you started?" Kakashi's eyes widened, one regular, one Sharingan. "No…you're an Akatsuki member, aren't you? You're after Naruto!"

Itachi was just about to respond when several more jonin appeared, along with an ANBU squad. Itachi hissed in annoyance. "Let's go, Kisame. We didn't come here to fight a war." _I thought no one but Jiraiya knew about the Akatsuku yet…but it seems like Kakashi-san still doesn't have the full story._

Kisame shrugged. "What a pity; I was just starting to have fun. Oh well, it can't be helped." And with that, the two disappeared.

Kage collapsed to the ground, his rage spent. "I'm sorry, Hinata-hime, I'm sorry, Hinata-hime, I'm so sorry, Hinata-hime, I'm…" He repeated over and over, curling into a ball on the ground.

Hinata ran to his side and tried to shake him out of his stupor, but he kept repeating the same phrase over and over.

Naruto walked in the door and eyed the wreckage all around him. "Um, did I miss something?"

* * *

_Later that day…_

"Why do I have to go on a training trip with you!" Naruto demanded.

"This is no ordinary trip, gaki. I'm going to find an old teammate of mine; she's going to be the next Hokage, the Godaime." Jiraiya explained.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I was planning on being the Godaime, after Sarutobi-jiji. Why should I help you find a woman who, most likely, left the village the instant things got pear-shaped?"

Jiraiya suppressed a wince. _Actually, that's almost exactly what happened. I hope the kid doesn't talk to Tsunade-hime like that when we see her…I doubt her temper has improved throughout the years._

"Oh, nothing, besides the fact that she is also a Sannin, one of the strongest ninja this village has ever produced. And that she is the granddaughter of the Shodaime, and the grandniece of the Nidaime doesn't mean anything either." Jiraiya said sardonically. "And the fact that she may be the only person alive with the skill to cure your black-haired friend means nothing at all."

"Well, I don't have anything else to do, so I guess I'll go on this little trip with you, Ero-sennin. I guess being Rokudaime isn't so bad." Naruto said callously, but was incredibly excited at the fact that there was someone out there who could heal his brother.

Jiraiya grinned. _Heh, brat, don't try to look calm and cool, you just can't pull it off. No, your charisma lies in your honesty and forthrightness._ "That's the spirit, brat. Tell you what, I'll even teach you a new jutsu to pass the time."

* * *

Omake-

"You cannot hope to defeat me, a master of the legendary Sharingan." Itachi sneered.

Kage smirked, and shouted, "Lee-san, Guy-san, there is someone who is lacking in the Flames of Youth!"

"WHAT! WE MUST AID THIS POOR SOUL! COME, MY YOUTHFUL APPRENTICE!"

"YES GUY-SENSEI!"

Itachi took an involuntary step backwards. _What manner of ungodly creature are these?_

In a flash, two green blurs were in front of Itachi.

"GUY-SENSEI, IF I CANNOT REKINDLE THIS MAN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH THEN I WILL RUN 200 LAPS AROUND KONOHA WITHOUT STOPPING! AND IF I CANNOT DO THAT THEN I WILL DO 1500 JUMPS ON EACH TOE!" Lee shouted.

"AND IF YOU CANNOT DO THAT I WILL DO 100 PUSH UPS IN 5 SECONDS! AND IF I CANNOT DO THAT I WILL RUN 1000 LAPS AROUND KONOHA, ON ONE HAND!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI"

The two taijutsu experts hugged, and Itachi was caught in the beach-sunset genjutsu.

_Wha-why can't I break it! _Itachi screamed mentally. After what seem like three days and three nights, it finally ended. Itachi collapsed due to mental stress.

Itachi was placed into a mental institution, where he muttered about keeping the Flames of Youth away from him for the rest of his life. Kisame was turned into sushi which Kage happily ate.

Afterwards, the leader of Akatsuki died because he got a paper cut. Turns out he had hemophilia.

Eventually, Kage and Hinata got married, and had a boy, who married Naruto's daughter.

Naruto became the Rokudaime after accidentally blowing up the Civilian Council, which coincidentally eliminated almost all political opposition to his ascension, and Kage's son became the Nanadaime a few decades later.

All was well…until the next war started.

* * *

**AN: **

**Eheheh…random omake. I'm actually considered making a sequel, with almost all OC's after I finish this story (everyone's kids). Let me know more, its still in the early stages of planning.**

**Anyways, I didn't do Shikamaru's fight because I didn't think I could do it justice. I didn't do most of Sasuke's fight because he's a fucking asshole. [SPOILER ALERT, IF YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE MANGA DON'T READ THIS, JUST HIT THE REVIEW BUTTON] Sasuke just killed Karin. She saves his life on more than one occasion, and he repays her by killing her the instant she slips up. **

**[Update: Apparently, Karin has managed to live after getting stabbed pretty damn close to the heart. That's bullshit. Only Hinata's allowed to do that. :-)]**

**Also, Kage's new move will not be used very often. It only works on people who have often-used chakra coils in the limbs (aka Hyuga). Anyone else, and the meridians wouldn't be large enough for Kage to accurately affect.**

**Personally, I think that was a pretty good reason why the sand tightened faster on Hinata than it did on Sakura in canon. In canon, Sakura was knocked unconscious, so her breathing rate remained relatively low. In this story, Hinata's a lot tougher than that, so she stayed conscious, but the constant pain got to her. And yes, the snake example is realistic. Apparently, if you are ever caught around the torso by a constrictor, you should leave one arm down to shield your body and give you extra breathing room, and with the other hand try to crush the snake's skull (or kill it any other way).**

**And I just felt like making the Kyuubi break the fourth wall, just a little.**

**This is just my opinion, but I think all jinchuriki (or hanyou) would have increased mental fortitude. First of all they have to deal with a semi-omnipresent being in their mind. Not only to they have to keep it from taking over, or even leaking out of their bodies, they also have to deal with its consciousness, lest it overshadow theirs. This all leads up to someone having great mental endurance, if maybe not intelligence.**

**Even so, Kage honestly believed that he had just tortured Hinata for 72 hours straight. After he was released from Tsukuyomi, his mind was definitely broken, but he craved revenge (starting to see a pattern here?). Once Itachi was gone, Kage succumbed to his despair as he closed himself off from the world around him.**

**Holy Shit I'm mad at you guys!11!1!11111!**

…

…

**Just kidding. But seriously, please review! Next chapters will be almost completely Naruto-centric!**

**Next I will update Children of the Cloud!**


	13. Chapter 13: Birth of the Yonnin

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M. Also, there will be later sexual encounters.**

**NEW: **

**New poll!!! Once I'm done with either this story or Children of the Cloud, I'll start on the next fic. You decide!**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out for a while. I've been really busy with school, science fair, Academic Decathlon, and going to Science Symposium in Reno, Nevada. Yep, got lots of shit going on, and lucky it's missing the fan (for now). As my form of an apology, I'm making this chapter extra long! **

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**3/21/2010**

* * *

Chapter 13: Birth of the Yonnin

Hinata panted as she spun left and right, dodging all the kunai her father threw at her at point-blank range. As Hiashi threw the last kunai, Hinata leaned to the side and caught the ring of the blade on her right second finger, making the knife do a half spin before she hurled it back at her father. Hiashi calmly caught the kunai an inch before his face, as they both expected.

**(This is the training Hiashi does with Neji right before Hinata leaves for the Bikochu Mission, in cannon.)**

"That went less poorly that I expected." He stiffly acknowledged to his panting daughter.

"Th-Thank you, father." Hinata replied, still unused to receiving (her father's form of) praise. _Why can't you just say good job, father?_

"Now, tell me what is making you upset. Whatever it is, it is making you loose your focus slightly. Perhaps talking about it will help to sooth your mind." Hiashi continued. It was basically his way of asking his daughter what was wrong and if she'd like to talk about it. Still, Hinata flinched. "Ano, I'm j-just worried about my t-teammate, K-Kage-s-san." She said, being careful not to lie but definitely not telling the whole truth.

Luckily, she had already explained to her father about the circumstances of the event, sticking to the story of it being a 'team meeting' that Naruto and Kakashi were late to (which was technically true). Still, she had been somewhat worried about her father's opinion of Kage. He had questioned her about Kage's use of Juken, and Hinata had honestly replied that she did not help him in any way, shape, or form; and she didn't help smuggle him into the Hyuga compound so he could watch others. Only after confirming Hinata's honesty with his Byakugan did Hiashi admit it was illogical to assume that Hinata helped Kage. After all, she was in the hospital for most of the month. Still, it was very…concerning, to say the least, that a person could just up and learn the Hyuga fighting style in one month well enough to beat the prodigy of the clan.

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes…Kage, wasn't it?" In truth, he probably needed to thank the boy one of these days for helping him see the truth. Hinata nodded, and Hiashi continued. "I must say, that boy is very…impressive. Even scratching an S-rank ninja is no small feat. In fact, all the members of your team seem to be very skilled. Well, I think we're done for today." Hiashi said suddenly, turning around and walking away. "You may have the rest of the day off."

Hinata blinked. Did her father just admit that he thought she was 'very skilled'?

* * *

Naruto laughed to himself as he pulled out Jiraiya's checkbook. _I wonder why he took Gama-chan if he has this much money? Whatever, I just really got to thank nii-san for teaching me how to pickpocket. I mean, I still suck at it, but Ero-sennin is so oblivious when he's peeping! Meh, talking to me about alcohol, women, and money. He indulges in all three of those! _

Naruto cheerily walked away from the ramen stand, having paid for the couple dozen bowls of ramen he had eaten. He saw a stand selling masks, and on impulse decided to buy a white and red dragon mask for Kage, as a get-well gift. Hey, it's not his money!

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw two object fly towards, him; a flat green fake frog wallet, and a filled red water balloon. The blonde boy spun to catch both of them. He noted with slight annoyance that his wallet was now empty, but didn't mind too much. After all, he had spent far more with Jiraiya's checkbook.

"Oh, hey Ero-Sennin." Naruto said calmly.

The white-haired man grinned. "Hey gaki. For a second, there, I though you would be mad, just because I spent some of your money." He laughed. "Since you're such a good sport about it, I guess I'll get started on teaching you that jutsu I promised."

Naruto laughed along with Jiraiya. "It'd be stupid to hold grudges over something as simple as money, right?"

"I agree completely." Jiraiya said with a smile…at least until Naruto tossed him his checkbook back.

* * *

Naruto grumbled to himself as he picked himself off the ground, chakra burns covering most of his hands. He knew that jutsu these steps were leader up to was most likely the Rasengan, one of his father's prized jutsu. Naruto just wondered when Jiraiya would stop beating around the bush and tell Naruto about his true parentage (even though he already knew it).

_AAARRG!_ Naruto was blasted backwards again as the rubber ball exploded with the force of his chakra. It was at time like this that Naruto wished Kage or Hinata was around. Kage would say something sarcastic, yet amusing, like "Oh, I didn't know you liked playing with balls so much," which would usually end up with them getting into a small scuffle. Hinata would smile and try to break up their mock-fight, just like an older sister would.

Naruto sighed as he picked up another ball. In a way, he envied what Kage and Hinata had. Even in the very short time since Naruto had noticed they were together, Naruto could still see the great strength of the feelings Kage and Hinata held for each other. Naruto admitted to himself that he wanted that; it must be really nice to have someone who is there for you, 100% of the time, who loves you absolutely unconditionally. However, it probably wouldn't happen for him. Being the "Demon-brat" of Konoha, Naruto knew his chance of getting a girlfriend was slim to none. And even if he did, the she would suffer the hate of the villagers just by proxy. No, Naruto didn't think he could do that to a girl he liked.

BAAAAM!!!

Naruto had passed the first stage of Rasengan training by the end of the first day. All he had to do was spin his chakra rapidly in all directions, easy, right? By the end of the third day, he could consistently pop a rubber ball by increasing the force of his chakra. The third stage was the hardest by far. Naruto could maintain the full force of the chakra sphere and keep it stable at the same time. This could be a major problem in combat; if it dissipated the instant before Naruto made contact, he would be left wide open to his enemy.

"Oi, gaki, I think I've found her! Hey, why are you laying on the ground? I thought you were serious about training? Oh well, forget that for now, I found Tsunade-hime!"

Naruto groaned upon hearing the perverted Sannin's voice. "Uggggghhh. Yeah, I'm getting up." He proceeded to do just that, his sore body protesting every inch of the way.

* * *

The blonde girl dropped to her knees, green eyes closed as she panted in exhaustion. _Just a little bit more…_ With a critical eye, she examined the large gash in her thigh. For most normal people, it would hamper their movement immensely, and probably cause them to bleed to death if left untreated.

She was not most people.

Even as she watched, the wound began to close. Within seconds, the wound was healed completely, leaving no trace on her fair skin that it was ever broken. The girl smiled humorlessly, sweat trickling down her face. Who was responsible for giving a twelve-year-old child such a wound? A better question would be: Who wasn't responsible for giving this twelve-year-old child this wound? Because in reality, every single shinobi and every single civilian in the village hated this girl with a passion. All the way at the top was the Raikage, the man who stuck a demon in her at the tender age of two, who saw her as only a tool to attack his enemies with. A failed tool, though, because her skills were limited; she could do little more than release her inner beast and rampage among her enemies. At the bottom were the children, learning the ways of hate through the examples of their parents and elders, being taught to despite and hate the demon girl.

This was not the first time the blond girl had been seriously wounded, nor would it be the last. Most of the time, the wounds were not even acquired during a mission, but when attacked by the villagers of the same village she served.

_No longer…_The girl though, a cold look in her green eyes. A few times, she had made half-hearted attempts at suicide, only for her tenant to heal her immediately. She simply could not do enough damage to her body at one time to die…only another could do it for her. But the blond girl no longer wanted to die at the hands of the people she had sworn to protect and serve…so she was going to break her word. She was going to abandon her village.

Where would she go? She could not go to any allied nations; they would capture her and send her back to Kumo. She was going, instead, to the closest nation not allied with the Land of Lightning.

Yugito Nii was going to the Land of Fire.

* * *

_In a bar…_

Upon entering the bar, Naruto saw two young women, probably in their twenties or thirties. One had blonde hair and brown eyes, and the other had short black hair and black eyes.

The teacher and his student silently walked up to the pair, but the blonde woman seemed to sense their presence. Without looking up, she asked "What do you want, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya grinned, while Naruto wondered how this woman could be in her fifties. It must be an advanced transformation technique, he decided.

"Oh nothing much." Jiraiya said calmly. "Just thought I'd let you know that you've been chosen to be the Godaime Hokage."

Tsunade merely took another swig of sake, swirling the cup around in her hand. "So…Orochimaru was telling the truth, huh? Waitaminute, who's this brat?" She squinted at Naruto, obviously trying to focus through her inebriation.

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of the Leaf." Naruto announced proudly.

Tsunade snorted. "Future Hokage, huh? That makes sense…You look like a fool anyways."

"WHAT?" Naruto screamed, causing everyone in the bar to look at him. He lowered his voice as he leaned in. "You want explain that comment?"

"Whoever becomes Hokage will be risking their life regularly. Unlike money, life can't be won back once it's lost. Not a single Hokage has died from old age, you know. They all died on the job. Dan and Nawaki both wanted to become Hokage, and their exploits got them killed." Tsunade said harshly. "Only a fool would want to be Hokage."

Naruto grit his teeth. Tsunade was insulting him, his father, and the entire Leaf Village!

"Ne, Jiraiya-sensei, its obvious that we're wasting our time here. Besides, Konoha is better off without some old hussy who's so ugly she has to keep a Henge on at all times." Naruto said venomously.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. _Jiraiya-sensei?_ Across the table, Tsunade was furiously glaring at Naruto.

Naruto made to stand up, but turned around to face the Toad Sage. "Hey, I bet even her breasts aren't real. What was it you called her, a 'flat-chested girl who thinks she's special'? Well, I have to say I doubted you, but looks like you're right. Besides, the only thing she might be good for nowadays is being a wet nurse, except then the baby would die from alcohol poisoning."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, BRAT?" Tsunade yelled to Naruto's back. "HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Naruto turned, his gaze passing over Jiraiya, who flinched. He did not want to get involved in this, at all. Getting Tsunade angry was like getting tied up and thrown into a fire…except far more painful. Getting her riled up like this was one way to get a reaction out of her, though.

"Did I stutter?" Naruto asked. "I'm pretty sure I just said you're worthless and that you would make a terrible mother, a crappy Hokage. And that your boobs are fake and probably saggy. Did I miss anything? Oh, and the Shodaime rolls over in his grave every time he thinks of you." Naruto wasn't sure what that meant, he heard it from somewhere else, but was very satisfied to see how mad it made Tsunade.

"HOW DARE YOU, BRAT! I AM TSUNADE SENJU OF THE SANNIN!" At no little prompting from Shizune, Tsunade finally calmed down. "I'm stronger than you could ever hope to imagine."

"Prove it." Naruto smirked. "You and me, outside, right here, right now. I bet that you'll be surprised."

Jiraiya and Shizune winced. Naruto had just said the magic word.

Tsunade grinned. "You got guts, brat. I'll give you that."

* * *

Shikaku groaned. "Do we _have_ to select who made chunin and who didn't? Fine, I say no one deserves it. Okay, I'm going home now—" The lazy jonin made to stand up but was yanked back into his chair by Choza.

Inochi sighed. "In lieu of the Hokage, whom we are currently lacking, the responsibility of promoting ninja falls to the shinobi council. The law is quite specific on this topic."

"Enough." Tsume growled. "I nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Akanami Kage, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino."

"That seems a little excessive." Shibi noted calmly. "We may only promote those who displayed exemplary performance during the actual exams, not what came afterwards. Despite my son's aid in subduing the puppet user aiding the rouge jinchuriki, I'm afraid he is not eligible for promotion."

"I'm afraid I must withdraw Hinata from consideration as well." Hiashi added, a stickler for the rules as always. "While she performed well during the first and second stages, it is the third stage in which the contestants' prowess is considered. A contestant who fails to advance to the third stage is automatically considered ineligible for promotion."

"Gee, if Minato was here he'd be pulling Naruto out, as well." Choza joked, as everyone in the room knew of Naruto's true parentage. A silence fell around the room as they remembered their fallen Yondaime Hokage. "However, I think Naruto definitely deserves the promotion. I mean, he defeated the Ichibi at almost full power. I mean, sure it's the weakest biju, but it's still a biju!"

Inochi cleared his throat awkwardly. "Erm, not to offend Yondaime-sama's memor or legacy or anything, but wouldn't that fall under the same category as Shibi's son?" There was regretful assent from around the room. "However, Kage and Shikamaru displayed much skill in their matches."

"I swear, you troublesome people take a sadistic glee in making my life as troublesome as possible." Shikaku whined. "If Shikamaru-kun becomes a chunin, my wife will be constantly be nagging me to train him. But Naruto should definitely be promoted. I know a lot of jonin who would turn tail and flee at the sight of a demon, even the lowly Ichibi."

"We should avoid using Akanami as Kage's surname, as it is neither official nor recognized as an official nickname, such as the Copy-Nin for Kakashi or the Yellow Flash for Yondaime-sama. Also, the Hyuga Elders have submitted a request to adopt Kage into the Hyuga Clan." Hiashi interjected. "Due to the fact that they are concerned about the…repercussions if clan secrets escape Konoha."

"Which would probably involve them putting a Caged Bird Seal on Kage." Shikaku countered lazily. "Which at Kage's age would have a high chance of death due to the way the seal affects the brain, would it not?"

"It would." Hiashi admitted. "Which is why I would like to ask that the Shinobi Council block the adoption process. First of all, it is unbecoming of the Hyuga Clan to resort to such petty measures as a method to cover up our own lack of security. Second, Kage's death would have a negative effect on my daughter's emotional state, thus stunting her progress for an indeterminate amount of time." Hiashi answered stiffly but honestly.

"Shit…you sound like Shibi, there." Tsume joked, and the entire room burst out in laugher, except for Shibi and Hiashi, whose pupil-less eyes were twitching.

After the comedic relief, the group resumed their discussion. Several more names were brought up and shot down, and the night wore on and on.

* * *

_So this is the strength of a Sannin, huh? I'm going to have to use __**it**__!_ Naruto realized.

"Lemme ask you this, gaki. Why do you get so excited just by hearing the word Hokage?" Tsunade asked, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Unlike you, I don't back down and I don't give up. Unlike you, I have precious people I want to protect. Unlike you, I have dreams I'm willing to fight for. Unlike you, I believe in the Will of Fire." Naruto grinned as he thought of all the obstacles he had overcome, and the obstacles he will have to face in the future. He thought off all his friends and family: Kage, Hinata, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Kiba, Ino, even Sasuke and Sakura. "Unlike you, I will become the best Hokage, 'cause that's my dream!"

Tsunade took a step back, shocked. _He's just like Nawaki…_

Naruto gripped his right wrist with his left hand as he turned his palm up. Blue swirls began to coalesce above his palm, and Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune's eyes all widened. Naruto could feel the orb seem to snap into a stable state, and knew it was ready. He charged Tsunade. "Rasengan!"

Tsunade quickly slammed one finger into the ground, creating a massive fissure in the ground. Naruto reacted instantly, leaping almost in an almost purely horizontal direction as the thrust the Rasengan out.

_I have no choice! I won't be able to bring my hand up in time._ Tsunade thought as she reluctantly brought her foot up and slammed in into Naruto with a drop kick. Instead of hitting its intended target, Naruto accidently hit the ground with the Rasengan as his face ate dirt.

Tsunade sneered, even though she lost the bet by using more than her finger. Looking at the relatively small crater, she could tell the jutsu was not nearly at its full power. "Jiraiya, why do you bother teaching the kid the Rasengan? Only you and the Fourth could ever use that jutsu. It's not like anyone can learn it—"

"It's my birthright, is it not?" Naruto said as he pulled himself out of the ground, not letting any of his anger slip out. Cunning like a fox, Naruto was surprisingly adept at the art of manipulation, judging by the look of shock on the other three faces. Of the three, only Jiraiya knew of Naruto's parentage. However, Tsunade was the first to recover.

"Just because Minato was your father doesn't mean you can learn his jutsu." Tsunade started.

"I bet that I can show you a full Rasengan in one week." Naruto said calmly. "If I win, you have to come back to Konoha to be Godaime and heal Kage-nii-san. If you win, you can go on your merry little way."

Tsunade smirked. "Fine, but lets up the stakes. If you win, I'll admit you _might _have what it takes to be a Hokage, and give you this necklace." She lifted up her necklace, it had a hexagonal prism green crystal as a pendant. Naruto's eyes widened; that was the necklace of the Shodaime Hokage! "If you lose…" Tsunade held up an orange plush fox wallet, and Naruto's eyes widened even more. "You have to give up being a ninja, forever. And I get all the money in your wallet!" Tsunade grinned. _There's no way I can lose this bet, even with my luck!_

Naruto winced. _Huh? I didn't even notice that! Heh, it's not like it matters._ He shrugged carelessly. "Deal. You two are witness to this?" He pointed to Jiraiya and Shizune, both of whom could only not dumbly. He was completely unconcerned.

This time, he held his right hand palm up. His left hand darted back and forth over his right, and a blue orb coalesced. After around ten repetitions of dragging the chakra in multiple directions, the orb finally stabilized. This time, it had the full power of the jutsu in it.

"Rasengan." He said proudly, relishing the looks of shock on everyone's faces (and the few civilians who were nearby). He smirked at a shocked Tsunade. "Don't gamble unless you know the odds, first."

* * *

_Training Ground 3…_

Hinata sighed. To be honest with herself, she was afraid of going to go see Kage in the hospital again. It wasn't the fact that he was in a comatose state, oh no. It was the fact that every now and then, he would twitch, or mumble some apology which was always directed towards Hinata.

The doctors said that he was suffering from extreme mental trauma. It was so severe that his mind had attempted to withdraw from reality and shut down in an attempt to lessen the psychological anguish. Ordinarily, mental trauma was treated with therapy, but therapy was difficult when the patient was unconscious. Unfortunately, the same unconsciousness that protected Kage's mind from pain also prevented him from coming to terms with whatever he had seen or suffered. None of the doctors knew how to jump-start the correct portions of Kage's brain to bring him back to consciousness, at least not without the chance of causing damage.

Every time Kage whispered her name in anguish, Hinata flinched. He obviously thought that he had hurt her in some horrible way. Even in unconsciousness his regret manifested itself. Hinata hated the fact that, very indirectly, she had caused Kage pain. _But if he has so much regret about thinking he hurt me, doesn't it show that he cares about me very deeply?_ Hinata thought with a large amount of guilt. No, that was very wrong. She would _not_ derive any sort of satisfaction from her boyfriend's pain. He would react the same if it was Naruto, right? They were practically brothers. What a weird pair.

Then again, Team 7 was full of weirdoes, wasn't it? Their sensei was chronically late and always read porn. Hinata still stuttered (although not nearly as much as she used to), blushed, and fainted. Naruto was obsessed with ramen and had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him. He always acted happy, even if he wasn't, although he usually was. Oh, and he liked it when things got blown up by powerful jutsu.

Kage might possibly be the weirdest of them all. First of all, he wasn't even human. Part dragon demon, part human, but with a mind containing something of both.

Hinata noticed that certain emotions seemed to be beyond her black-haired boyfriend. Or perhaps more accurately, there were certain emotions that he was reluctant to show others. In public, he always kept his thoughts and emotions relatively concealed. Even when he was amused, the most he would do is smirk. Really, the only people he let his mask down around were Naruto and Hinata. To be honest, Hinata thought that there was a deeper reason than using the mask to keep away fangirls. She wondered if he would lose his fangirl club if they saw a hint of the real him. Personally, Hinata thought both facets of Kage were like two sides of the same coin. He was perfect. _And yet, he chose me. I'm not pretty, I'm not smart, and I'm not that strong. What does he see in_ _me, I wonder?_

Hinata also wondered was Kage was so reluctant to open up to others. Was Kage-kun…afraid? Afraid of showing emotions and being ridiculed for them? Hinata frowned. That almost made sense. It had taken a long time for Kage to open up to her, and for them to get to their current close emotional rapport.

Hinata absentmindedly danced over the surface of the water in the solitude of the lake. She was so close to completing her jutsu, now! _If only Kage-kun could be here._

* * *

_A few days later…_

"She didn't intend to heal your arms, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto assured his master. "Knowledge of medical chakra can be used to hurt just as much as it can be used to heal."

Orochimaru shook his head sadly. "Why, Tsunade? I really was going to bring those two back." His tone was calm; he might have been talking about retrieving lost mail rather than two people.

_Kuso!_ _I was so close to getting rid of that hebi-teme once and for all! _"I would have given anything just to see those two again." Tsunade admitted. "Even if it was just one last time, I would do almost anything just to see their smiles, touch their faces. But I realized…that would be tainting their memory."

"I see…it seems like we'll have to force you." Orochimaru accepted the pill Kabuta tossed him, and even he winced at the horrible taste. If Manda drank rotten milk and concentrated his bowels into a small tablet, Orochimaru imagined it would almost taste as bad as this.

"My apologies, Orochimaru-sama, but the ingredients were mixed to produce an optimal effect, not optimal taste." Kabuta said subserviently, noting the look on Orochimaru's face.

The snake summoner just nodded. Even so, he could feel his body filling with energy and vitality, even if his arms remained useless. "Let us begin."

* * *

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

"That's the signal, you two." Jiraiya noted. "Let's move!"

Out in the field, Tsunade was faring well against Kabuto, and Orochimaru was hanging back, not wanting to damage his body any more than necessary. At least until Kabuto deliberately cut the inside of his wrist, spraying blood all over Tsunade and causing her to freeze up because of her hemophilia. Luckily, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Shizune showed up before thing got any worse (and Tonton, but no one could count her).

Jiraiya and Orochimaru had summoned Gamabunta and Manda, respectively, and were having a massive fight. Shizune had tried to confront Kabuto, but was quickly disabled.

"Ka-Kabuto? You failed the Chunin Exams seven times, how did you get this strong so quickly?" Naruto asked before realization washed over him. "I see…you were in the Chunin Exams as a spy. You didn't fail the exam seven times because of lack of skill, it's because you deliberately messed up!"

Kabuto smirked. "Huh, I see you're not as dense as you'd like others to believe, Naruto-kun. I wonder what else you hide behind that happy façade of yours."

Naruto grinned back, despite being slightly unnerved that Kabuto had seen through his act so quickly. "Come and find out, traitor. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

"Ooooohh, I've never heard that one before." Kabuto said sarcastically, referring to the word traiter. He frowned as he tilted his head to the side, relatively unconcerned with the clones that were charging him. "Actually, I haven't, because I've never been caught. Hmph, imagine that."

"Damn it, pay attention!" One of the Narutos shouted, throwing a punch and Kabuto's head.

The silver haired medic calmly ducked as his hands took on a blue glow. With what appeared to be a gentle tap to the chest, he easily shredded the cardiac muscles with a scalpel made of pure chakra. However, the boy disappeared in an unsatisfying poof of smoke. _I'll just have to find the real one, then._ Kabuto eliminated the rest of the clones in a relatively easy fashion, even going so far as to do fancy sweeping kicks as if to demonstrate the difference in skill between him and Naruto. Finally, Kabuto faced the last Naruto, assuming him to be the real one.

"Just give up, Naruto-kun." Kabuto said in a patronizing tone. "If you really want to grow up to become a strong ninja, I suggest you run far, far away. As they say: he who runs away, lives to fight another day. If you die here, your dreams come to an end."

Naruto shook his head vehemently. _Who does this bastard think he is?!? _"My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze; I don't give up, and I don't run away! I'll wipe that smirk off your face, you arrogant showoff."

Kabuto shook his head in mock sadness. "What a shame. Then I guess—" In the blink of an eye, he flicked a kunai into his hand and charged Naruto. Naruto was able to block the kunai by letting it impale his left hand, but Kabuto hit him in the chest with a hand covered in a blue glow. Naruto's eyes widened as he coughed reflexively, blood coming out of his mouth.

"Any last words, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah…look behind you, bastard." 'Naruto' turned into smoke. **[1]**

"Rasengan!" Kabuto could only complete half a turn before a glowing blue ball of swirling chakra slammed into his left ribcage. Surrounded by painful residue, Kabuto was thrown back, his back slamming painfully into a large rock. A large crack appeared in the rock before it split into several smaller parts, a testament to the strength of Naruto's attack.

Naruto stood in the spot where Kabuto was, panting ever so slightly from using a full Rasengan.

_When Kabuto was getting fancy in destroying my clones, I took the time to conceal myself with a simple camouflage technique while his sight was distracted from his spins and twirling kicks. If he wasn't so arrogant, Kabuto could have easily seen through it. _Naruto smirked. "Heh…told you I'd wipe that smirk off your face, teme."

* * *

Yugito panted as she rolled to the side, avoiding a kunai before jumping back onto her feet. _No, no, no!!! They shouldn't be following me into Hi no Kuni __**(The Land of Fire)**__!!! Standard hunter-nin protocol states that hunter-nin are to abandon pursuit of the target once they are more than five miles into a different country. I guess they bent the rules a bit for me; I'm not the average runaway._

Yugito tossed a kunai with an explosive note behind her as she ran, and a few seconds later it exploded with a satisfying bang. In the smoke that ensued, she made a simple bushin and quickly hid. When the smoke cleared, the several masked ninja that were chasing her went after the illusionary clone, thinking it was her.

Yugito forced herself to count to thirty before she dashed off in a different direction. This way, none of the hunter-nin would hear her move and double back. "That should buy me a day or two…I hope." She muttered.

* * *

Even his own, Jiraiya was able to rout Orochimaru after Gamabunta defeated Manda by impaling him with his short sword. Without any allies remaining and unable to use jutsu, Orochimaru wisely decided to flee before he was injured even more. Tsunade, slightly ashamed that she had frozen up due to the sight of blood and had to be saved by a genin, admitted said genin had a very good chance of becoming Hokage…after her, of course.

The four were on their way back to Konoha. Naruto and Shizune were leading by a few dozen feet as Naruto animatedly bragging to Shizune about his regenerative powers. Shizune was arguing back just as heatedly that there could be certain types of poisons that would be unaffected by his enhanced immune system. In fact, she claimed, some would even have a greater effect on him because of the Kyuubi's influence.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were hanging back, talking about old times and the present.

"So…" Tsunade said to pass the time. "Who's this Kage that Naruto keeps talking about? Minato and Kushina didn't have any kids before Naruto, as I recall."

Jiraiya sighed as he explained that Kage was another orphan, but Tsunade quickly assumed the next logical conclusion. "He's probably ROOT. From what you've said he could have been taken and trained before meeting Naruto."

The old white-haired man shook his head. "No. I'm almost positive that he's not ROOT. Some of his emotions definitely seemed…manufactured, but I don't think he's ever had anything to do with Danzo."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What makes you seem so sure? Not to be pessimistic, but most people in Konoha see Naruto as the Kyuubi incarnate, which, by the way, does not exactly endear me more to the people I'm going to be leading. Why would this boy be perfectly okay with having a jinchuriki as a 'brother'?"

"Because I think Kage might also be a jinchuriki." Seeing Tsunade's shocked expression, Jiraiya quickly continued. "I only met him for a couple minutes, so I'm I can't be for sure. But it all makes sense! He was possibly abandoned at an early age, right, so maybe his real parents knew about a demon sealed in him. And just like Naruto, something weird happened when his blood touched the Toad Summoning Contract. But most of all, I think I detected youkai in his body!"

"Were you drunk at the time, or suffering from blood loss due to your peeping?" Tsunade deadpanned.

Jiraiya face-faulted. "NO! I was in a right state of mind, really!" He protested, dragging a hand over his face. "Just…sometime before or after you bring him out of his coma, can you check his body for a seal or something? Oh, and if you see it, don't mess with it or anything. If you do, a demon might start to come out, like the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle, or maybe the Five-Tailed Dolphin Steed, or…" Jiraiya trailed off.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I'm not a seal master, but I'm smart enough to know not to mess with them, thank you very much."

Jiraiya was still silent. A very, very bad thought had just come to him._ There are definitely demons other than the Nine Biju. Before now, I had assumed Akatsuki's goals would fail if even one of the nine Tailed Beasts were…killed, for lack of a better word, due to their host dying. But what if, theoretically, Akatsuki could replace one of the demons with another demon of equal strength? Damn it, that means I've been focusing my spy network too much on the jinchuriki!!! I need to know if there are any other powerful demons, and if there are, where they are! Shit!_

With a start, he noticed that Tsunade was looking at him funnily. "Oh, good, good. It'd be a shame if the owner of those fine knockers was killed." As he expected, Tsunade quickly sent him through several trees, a rock, and a traveling caravan. _Ouch…well, at least it made her forget to question me…_

* * *

"Yes! In less than fifteen minutes, we'll reach Kono—"

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

Naruto's head whipped up. "Did you guys hear that?" Without waiting for a response, he darted off the path and into the trees. Snorting, Jiraiya followed, Tsunade and Shizune not far behind.

Naruto smelled blood, and his senses instantly went on high alert. Coming into a small clearing, he saw a bloody girl lying on the ground. She seemed soaked in blood, but Naruto could tell she was around his own age. It was obvious she had been attacked by a shinobi, though wounds could only have been made by thrown kunai due to their relatively shallow depth and straight lines. Logically, this girl must have been a kunoichi also. Naruto whipped around, looking for any foes.

In the shadows, two masked ninja used sign language to communicate; not willing to take any chances with the interloper's hearing ability. _This one is a Leaf-nin._ _How do we proceed?_

_We do not._ The other answered. _Killing one of our own in a different country will cause enough uproar as it is. Invading a country and killing one of its shinobi is an act of war. Besides, the demon will die of its injuries; the 'special poison' should make sure of that._

_That's true; her wounds aren't healing like they were before. Unnatural demon-child…_ If he had been speaking, the hunter-nin's tone would be a muttering whine. _It's a good thing we finally got rid of her. Imagine, when we get back home we'll be heroes! _

_Let us depart. This mission was a success._ Without a sound, the two hunter-nin of Kumogakure left.

"Ero-sennin, Baa-chan, get over here, quickly!" Naruto yelled as he bent down. He had little training in medicine, but he put his fingers to the girl's neck as he felt for a pulse. _There it is…no wait, that's my thumb…yep, there's definitely a pulse!_

Once entering the clearing, Tsunade froze at the sight of the bloody girl. Shizune sighed as she checked the victim in her mentor's place, discreetly motioning to Jiraiya to snap Tsunade out of it. Meanwhile, Shizune ran a quick diagnostic jutsu on the girl.

_Hmm, I think her hair is blonde…hard to tell with all that mud and blood._ Naruto thought.

"She's lost a lot of blood, and she has some sort of poison running through her veins. It seems like some sort of non-biodegradable acid, and it's interfering with platelet formation, acting as an extreme anticoagulant." Shizune announced. "Tsunade-sama, what should we do? If we try to speed up her body's healing, we'll just end up causing more damage due to the poison. Even so, she's declining at a rapid rate."

"Huh?" Tsunade snapped her eyes to the side so she didn't have to look at that terrifying red liquid. "Um…We're within fifteen minutes of Konoha, right? We need to get her hooked up to a dialysis machine, stat. We can extract the poison from her blood when it's outside of her body, and then run the purified blood back into her veins. Until then, the there's nothing else we can do."

"Then we better hurry." Jiraiya quickly bent down and picked up the up the girl, as Tsunade would obviously be a poor choice and Shizune or would be slowed down too much by the extra weight. He noticed a seal on the back of the girl's neck; a very interesting one. Jiraiya also observed the slashed Kumo headband. He quickly put two and two together to make four. _Well, well, well. Seems like it's raining cats and dogs in my life; or perhaps cats and foxes would be more accurate, if my sources are correct._

* * *

Hinata nodded to Teuchi and Ayame, thanking them for the lunch.

"You're welcome to come back anytime, Miss Hyuga. Just make sure to bring Naruto next time; with him around, I'll never go out of business!" Teuchi laughed good-naturedly, and Hinata smiled, but to her it felt empty.

Ayame seemed to pick up on this fact, and sought to cheer Hinata up. She knew that the Hyuga Heiress was one of the few kunoichi that were actually serious about their profession, unlike many other girls her age. From both her and her father's longtime experience in having ninja patrons, Ayame also new many kunoichi idolized the sole female ninja of the Sannin. "Hey Hinata, did you hear? The Legendary Healer Tsunade of the Sannin just got back into Konoha earlier today. They say she can heal just about anything, and that there would be almost five times as many casualties during the Second Shinobi World War if it weren't for her."

Hinata's eyes widened. _Maybe she can heal Kage-kimi!_ In a split second, she was gone, a dust trail leading towards the hospital.

Ayame blinked. _That worked better than I expected._

* * *

Tsunade blinked. The blonde girl had been hooked up to the dialysis machine for less than two hours, and her condition was improving tremendously. No, scratch that, it was practically a miracle! The girl hadn't even needed a blood transfusion! It was only after Jiraiya quietly explained that the girl was a jinchuriki did Tsunade understand.

"Oi, baa-chan, great work and all, but can you heal Kage now?" Naruto grumpily asked. Instantly after the girl was hooked up to the dialysis machine, Naruto wanted Tsunade to treat his brother, but she explained that the girl was still in a critical condition, and that she needed constant monitoring, and immediate healing once the acid was out of her system. Kage, on the other hand, had been in the hospital for a while, now, and his physical body was stable. If he had been in a coma for this long, Tsunade explained, a couple of hours wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Fine, brat, I'll do that nex—"

A door slammed very loudly, revealing a young teenage girl with long dark-blue hair and lavender, pupil-less eyes. She was wearing a blue short-sleeved blouse and light tan pants. The girl was clutching a sheathed katana that had a hole in the pommel, like a kunai would. "Ts-Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade suppressed a groan. _Oh great, someone else who wants me to heal another person. Looks like a Hyuga, too. They usually have sticks up their asses, and the worst part is I have to be civil to them, now that I'm the Hokage._

* * *

Luckily (for Tsunade), both Naruto and Hinata had the same patient in mind. She really did not want to have to work that much on her first day back in Konoha, some woman named Koharu had already asked her to heal some Uchiha boy who was also in a coma. Also, some weird guy in a spandex green suit (Tsunade shivered at the memory) also asked her to heal his 'youthful student'. Seriously, Tsunade just wanted to relax with a bottle of sake…or two…or twelve…or twenty.

Tsunade sighed. She had checked over Kage's body, and there was no trace of a seal anywhere. She was pretty sure that no halfway-intelligent seal master would seal a demon in a child's asscheek, but looked there anyways, and then she even looked at the front. Feeling somewhat like a pedophile, Tsunade still hadn't found anything.

The odd thing was, though, the boy seemed to have a high fever, although he was not sweating and did not have abnormal breathing or abnormal cardiac activity. There were some serious holes in the hospital patient protocols if no one had noticed this. The Godaime frowned as she read the patient information clipboard attached to the bottom of the hospital bed. Her frown deepened as she noted the various "Get Well" cards and balloons, all written in different curving, flowing scripts. _Well, it seems like this boy is quite the heartthrob, to have this many female admirers. I mean, even the Hyuga girl moons over him, although she tries to be subtle about it. I bet her father would have a fit if he knew. _Tsunade pushed her thoughts to the side as she read the clipboard.

_Name: Kage FNU (Full Name Unknown)_

_Reason for Hospitalization: Coma induced by unknown technique (likely high-level genjutsu), possible high-levels of mental trauma._

_Doctor's Notes: Patient has a fever of consistently 106.8-107.2 Fahrenheit. Use of external paraphernalia (ice) was attempted to try to lower the patient's body temperature. However, once the patient's body temperature dropped below 100 Fahrenheit, he began exhibiting symptoms of hypothermia. As his body seems to be suffering no ill effects from his high temperature, it was decided that he would be left as is, pending a blood test (not yet administered). Also, his muscles seem to be resisting any form of atrophy, not an unusual occurrence considering the active lifestyle of a shinobi._

Tsunade frowned. _Well that's certainly odd. Some people take longer for their muscles to atrophy than others, so nothing out of the ordinary there. But no ordinary human can expect to have such high temperatures for an extended period of time. His brain should be cooking in his skull, yet he seems perfectly fine in that respect. Is it possible to seal a demon into a child without using a seal as a medium?_ "Naruto, Hinata, I'm done with the preliminary check-up. I'm going to start the procedure." She called.

Naruto and Hinata entered the room, Hinata still holding on to Kage's sword, along with a spare set of Kage's clothing, both of which she had gotten from his and Naruto's house. Kage was currently wearing a hospital gown, and patients were not supposed to have weapons while in the hospital. Hinata thought Kage would like to change both of those facts, once he was conscious again.

Tsunade set her palm on Kage's forehead, trying to ignore his burning skin. She channeled a trickle of chakra, and her hand began to glow green with medical chakra as she carefully stimulated the correct portions of his brain.

"I'm stimulating the parts of his brain that help promote consciousness." Tsunade explained absentmindedly to Naruto and Hinata. The green glow faded. ". Depending on his will power, Kage will wake up in anywhere from half an hour to a few days. I'm going to suppress the painful memories that—"

Suddenly, Kage's eyes shot open as he slapped Tsunade's hand away. He tried to jump out of the bed and away from the blonde stranger, but he got caught in the covers and landed on his face, causing laughter from Tsunade, Naruto, and Hinata. "Hinata-chan? Naruto-nii-san? Someone tell me what the fuck just happened?" Kage croaked from the floor.

* * *

Shizune smiled, satisfied with her medical skills. She had just completed a successful double eye transplant into some poor man. He had been horribly crippled, somehow; all the major tendons in his shoulders and arms had been severed. It was not the kind of injury one received in combat; perhaps the man had been caught and tortured by other shinobi. The man would always have scars crisscrossing his hands, shoulders, and face, but he would at least be able to live a semi-functional life. Shizune was glad that she had been able to help at least one innocent soul today.

_Why do I have such a bad feeling?_

* * *

"Are you sure, Hime?" Kage asked nervously. He was now in his usual red t-shirt, black and gold vest, and black pants.

"I'm s-sure, Kimi." Hinata murmured into her boyfriend's chest.

Tsunade had forced Kage to stay lying down on his hospital bed, even though he was relatively fine, if suffering from hunger. Interestingly enough, Kage's 'fever' had dropped back to 100.1 degrees soon after he became conscious. Tsunade had left, as she still had others to cure, saying she would be back soon. Naruto decided to be considerate and give Kage and Hinata some private time, while still keeping it a secret that he knew they were dating (he still wanted to embarrass them at some later time), and said that he was going to go get some takeout from Ichiraku's as celebration. So Kage was lying on the bed, and Hinata was lying on his chest. Kage had just finished explaining that some sort of double genjutsu had put him into the coma, and Hinata said that she was never sucked into the different realm in the first place.

"Hmm, good. Hey, what happened to the ring I gave you? Or the wristband Naruto gave you?" Kage suddenly asked, noting the lack of accessories. Really, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. A genjutsu took effect by infiltrating the victim's chakra network and altering the activity of the prosencephalon (forebrain), the section of the brain that controls body temperature, the inner biological clock, emotions, and perception of reality. For two people to be sucked into the exact same genjutsu, not two different executions of the same genjutsu, the disturbance in their brains and the malfunction of their chakra coils would not only have to be perfectly synchronized, but altered at the exact same electroneurotic wavelength as well. Kage was so deep in thought that he almost missed Hinata's answer.

"Huh? Oh, they m-must have dispelled at some time or a-another. Shadow clones only last so long, y-you know." Hinata paused. _I have to ask him. I have to know._ "Kage-kun?"

"Yes, my hime?"

"Why did y-you jump in front of me?"

"Hm." Kage was silent for a moment, and Hinata could not tell what he was thinking. "I'd like to say that it was some sort of noble sacrifice that I was happy to make, but it was really a spur of the moment thing; I had no clue what would happen. For all I knew, it could have been nothing at all, or I could have died on the spot. But even in hindsight, I think I would do it again, rather than have you suffer instead."

Hinata managed to wince and smile at the same time. "A-Ano, how bad was it? Th-That is, o-only if you want to talk a-about it."

Kage glared at his sword, which was leaning on a chair just off the side of the bed, just out of Kage's reach. He wanted the comforting feel of his weapon in his hand, but Tsunade specifically told him to avoid doing anything that he associated with violence, spouting some sort of medical mental jargon as a an excuse. Kage snorted. _Just about my entire being is defined by violence. Tsunade-sama is just underestimating my mental fortitude._ "Let's just say it made Lee-san and Guy-san's sunset genjutsu seem therapeutic by comparison. The things that happened to me, and what happed to you, and what I did—" Kage stopped abruptly, then restarted. "It wasn't the best experience of my life. That's why I would willingly take it again to prevent it from happening to you; your safety is more important than my health. Anyways, on the bright side, I'm getting closer to naming the feeling I have, because of this…incident."

Suddenly, Hinata sat up and got off of Kage, softly coming to her feet as she walked towards the window. Hinata's gait seemed somewhat forced as she went over and opened the window, her long, dark-blue hair waving from the slight breeze.

Kage frowned at Hinata's back, concerned that he had pushed her away with his latest 'confession'. _No, that doesn't make any sense. I guess there are just some things about my Hime that I'll never understand. Oh well, the mystery just adds to the allure._ Kage was just about to lean back when his senses started tingling. No, it wasn't anything supernatural or any hidden talent, all ninja started to recognize dangerous situations before they occurred, which made sense considering their dangerous profession. _I'm in a hospital. Why would there be—_

The door slammed open, and a familiar-looking man rushed towards Kage with a crazed look in his eyes. A simple scalpel was held in his scarred hands, and he plunged it towards Kage. Kage tried to move, but the covers of the bed trapped his legs again and prevented him from moving enough.

Kage tried to bend to the side, but couldn't quite reach his sword. Time seemed to slow down for the black-haired genin as his Kokugan activated due to the sudden adrenaline rush he got. _Stupid old hag. If I had my sword, or a kunai, or even half a shuriken, I could be free in an instant. So this is how it ends, huh? But at least I'll make sure to take this bastard down with me!_

At lighting speeds, Kage began making handseals, trying to finish before the scalpel plunged into him. He knew that even if he finished before the knife struck, the man's momentum would cause him to stab Kage anyways. Conversely, even if the man was able to stab Kage before he completed forming his handseals, he would have several moments to complete his ninjutsu before he died, even if he was stabbed in the heart.

The scalpel cast a hazy reflection as it sank down, painfully slowly, at least to Kage's perception. Five feet…_Tora-Hitsuji_ …Four feet…_Tatsu_…three feet…_Guess I lose this race, but in the end we'll both loose. I should've just killed this bastard a couple years ago, when he attacked nii-san._ There was a wet thump as the scalpel bit deep into flesh. Kage's eyes widened.

"K-Kage-kun…"

* * *

Hinata felt her breath catch. There was a warm feeling in her chest when Kage said how important she was to him, and the Hyuga girl began to feel light headed. She forced herself to get off Kage and walk to the window, under pretense of opening it. _No! I must not…blush…or faint…_

Opening the window, Hinata welcomed the cool air on her face. _"Your safety is more important than my health…"…You mean so much to me, Kage-kimi. I want to tell you how much you mean to me, how worried I was the entire time you were in a coma, but…but I just can't bring myself to do it! I try, but I'll start blushing, start stuttering, or start fainting. Oh, Kage-kun, do you have any idea of what you do to me? You mess me up so badly, yet nothing else has ever felt so good…_

Abruptly, Hinata heard the door slam open, and whipped around. Her vision centered on a single object, the metal implement in the newcomer's hand. It wasn't made for combat, but it would definitely do the job.

There were no thoughts rushing through Hinata's head, just a very clear sense of what needed to be done. Before she knew it, she was on top of Kage, the scalpel imbedded in the upper left part of her back.

Strangely, through, Hinata felt no pain, just a calm acceptance. She guessed she was going into shock.

"Kage-kun…" _You were right. A choice between your life and mine is no choice at all; I would choose yours every single time. I don't have to think about it, it's as natural as breathing or blinking. I know why, now. Because…_ "…I love you."

* * *

The blade had not stabbed him, but Hinata. Kage's girlfriend was splayed over his chest, having dove over the dragon hanyou at the last second. Her eyes were wide as she stared into Kage's face.

Almost immediately, Kage blew concentrated flames over the man, and the ex-shinobi opened his mouth to scream but ended up inhaling the flames into his lungs. Mouth opened in a silent cry, he fell to the ground, still twitching.

Kage twisted to the side, wincing as his spine popped, and his fingertips barely caught the red sash of his kunai-katana. He yanked the red cloth, and gripped the handle of his sword when it came to him. The dragon hanyou wasted no time in slashing through the covers, gently moving Hinata to the side, and dashing out the door.

Hinata's vision began to fade.

* * *

Tsunade looked from side to side. _Yes, I think I finally lost Shizune!_ She pulled out a large bottle of sake and uncorked it, inhaling the delicious scent of the alcoholic drink. The old blonde was just about to take a large swig when a red blur came running up to her, grab her arm, and began pulling her away at rapid speeds, almost enough to dislocate her shoulder.

The bottle of sake crashed to the floor.

* * *

"What are you waiting for? HEAL HER!" Kage yelled at the trembling woman, disgusted. He tossed a full bag (stolen in an instant, of course) of advanced medical supplies at Tsunade's feet. She did not react.

_So…much…blood…_Tsunade shivered but made no move to bring her hands up to Hinata's would. Her mind registered the sound of metal being drawn, and before she knew it a black blade was placed at her neck.

"Heal her." Kage said in a low, cold tone. He had already gained control of his anger, and had decided to give Tsunade an ultimatum in an attempt to snap her out of her funk. "If she dies, **you die."**

Tsunade winced. _I may be the world's greatest healer, but even I can't attach my head back to my own body._ Oddly enough, the thought of her own death still didn't scare her as much as the sight of blood did. But the way Kage said it reminded her of herself, a long, long, long time ago when Dan was critically wounded. In that instant, Tsunade would have given anything to make sure that he didn't die. She guessed she could understand how Kage felt. Was the girl just a teammate to him? Something more? Tsunade decided to stop wondering and get to work.

"Y-Yes." She ripped open the back of Hinata's blouse and was surprised to see a large black dragon tattoo running from the left middle of the girl's back, about where the ribcage ended, to the right side of her neck, just above the shoulder. It was placed almost exactly where it couldn't be seen, hidden by the collar of a shirt, unless Hinata was shirtless. The scalpel was stuck in her right subclavian artery, just above the heart. It was fortunate that Kage didn't pull the blade out; Hinata would've bled out in seconds if he had. Even so…

"…She's dangerously low on blood. Can you go to—"

Kage swiftly cut her off. **"Take mine."** His tone remained as colder than ice. There was no way in hell that he was going to leave Hinata alone for another second. He stuck out his left arm, keeping his katana at the female Sannin's throat with his other hand.

* * *

_Somewhere else…_

Sasuke sneezed.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked.

"Hn………shut up." _Why does my voice not sound cold enough?_

* * *

Tsunade pulled out a DTD **(Direct Transfusion Device)**, which was basically a flexible tune with a syringe at each end. However, this was an advanced model, so it had a mechanism in the middle to prevent the leakage of air into the tube, and also to control the rate of transfusion.

Ideally, Tsunade would have liked Type O blood to supply Hinata with, but there was no time to protest. She quickly tied a tourniquet around Kage's bicep and unceremoniously stuck the needle into his arm, hoping that him and Hinata were the same blood type. She stuck the other end in Hinata and set the device to maximum, in Hinata's direction. Kage's eyes widened both at the slight pain and the feeling of blood leaving his body. The device hummed as it moved blood from his body at an incredibly rapid rate.

Tsunade took a deep breath as she placed a hand on the handle of the scalpel. She knew that she would have to heal the artery completely within thirty seconds of removal of the obstruction, or else Hinata would bleed to death, even with Kage supplying her with extra blood.

Tsunade yanked the scalpel out and immediately set to work healing the wound. She had to hurry, or else the girl would die, but if she rushed too much then she would do a poor job of healing, and the girl could die later from the slightest stress.

_I think she's going to make it!_

Behind her, Kage was starting to feel very lightheaded, although he stayed on his feet. However, if one looked closely, one could see that he was starting to sway.

With a relieved sigh, Tsunade finished the healing. She started a diagnostic jutsu to check how she had done, and was surprised to see she had done an exceedingly good job, even for her, which was definitely saying something.

"There." Tsunade said. "She's definitely going to live." There was no response. "Um, can you put that sword away?"

"**Oh…**…uh……yeah." Kage fumbled with his sword, nearly stabbing himself in the hip, and managed to slide his sword into its sheath on the second try. Having done so, he immediately collapsed due to blood loss, having given a lot of his blood to Hinata. As he fell, the syringe was yanked out of his arm.

Tsunade blinked. Honestly, now that she thought about it, she was surprised he had stayed on his feet for that long. She estimated that he had given around 1-1.25 quarts of blood. She wasn't worried about Kage, though, he seemed like a tough bastard. What she was more worried about was the feeling that was leaking off him right before she started healing Hinata. She could definitely see how Jiraiya thought that he might be a jinchuriki.

There was the sound of plastic bowls hitting the ground as Naruto walked into the room, having dropped the takeout bag when he saw Hinata, Naruto, and Tsunade covered in blood, in addition to the immolated corpse on the floor. As the broth started to seep out onto the floor, an orange book soon joined it as Kakashi walked in. His mouth was open behind his mask, and one hand was up in front of his face, where it had been holding an Icha Icha volume before he dropped it.

"Someone tell me what the fuck just happened." Naruto said in shock.

* * *

_Later, in a dark hospital room…_

"Unnnnnghhhhhhh…" Yugito groaned. Instantly, she snapped into alertness, but pretended she was still sleeping. Yugito had turned into a very light sleeper over the years through a very effective "training method": learn to wake up when people approach or be horribly beaten.

"I know you're awake, now." A feminine voice said. "So let's cut the crap."

_Stale, yet clean smell, cloth sheets…I'm laying in a hospital bed._ Yugito realized. _The last thing I remember is being caught by surprise, because I didn't expect to be attacked this close to Konoha. Since I'm in a hospital, that means someone brought me here, so they don't mean me any harm…for now._ Yugito opened her eyes. "Fine." As she expected, she was laying in a hospital bed. Sitting at the edge of the bed in a stiff wooden chair was a young-looking blonde woman with brown eyes and a blue diamond in the center of her forehead. Yugito noted that the woman wore no headband. "Where am I?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "What, no thank you? It wasn't easy helping you, you know. Anyways, you are in Konoha Medical Hospital Beta. And _you_ are a missing-nin of Kumo, which is potentially a big problem for us."

"I need to talk to the Hokage. It's important."

The blonde woman shook her head. "I don't think so. For all we know, you could be an assassin sent to kill Hokage-sama. You should be grateful you're not in an interrogation chamber. Now cough it up, why are you here?"

Yugito gritted her teeth. She was in no position to ask for anything, yet she needed to talk to the Hokage and convince him to accept her into Konoha, and quickly. Otherwise, she would be sent back to Kumo, and there was no way she was going back to that hellhole. Yugito just hoped that Konoha would be different. "I seek asylum in Konoha."

"We can't just give asylum to anyone, you know." Truthfully, Tsunade had already made up her mind about sheltering this girl, but she wanted to get a feel for her, first. So far, she had determined that the girl had an extreme distrust of strangers, probably stemming from her mistreatment during her life due to being a jinchuriki. "The political repercussions would be too great if we accepted any newbie who wants to run away from home. You're what, a genin? Yeah, that seems about right. What can you offer Konoha?"

"Knowledge of Kumo's infrastructure, the locations of a few bases near the border of Fire Country and Lightning country, and detailed information of the top few shinobi in Kumo. _Now,_ can I talk to the Hokage." Yugito knew it was a huge gamble to show her hand like that, but it was a risk worth taking.

Tsunade blinked. This could work out better than expected. The blonde Sannin grinned. "You're talking to her."

* * *

After everything settled down, Yugito revealed everything she knew to Tsunade, who in turn agreed to give Yugito physical and political asylum. In fact, Tsunade even agreed to make Yugito a kunoichi of Konoha (with the gears in her mind turning rapidly). Yugito had wanted to operate alone, so that she didn't have to interact with anyone else, but Tsunade rejected her request. Because Tsunade didn't want Yugito to suffer any more ostracization, she agreed to keep Yugito's jinchuriki status a secret.

"I think you'll get along quite well with your team. In fact, one of the boys on the team is the one who helped bring you in." Tsunade kept Naruto's secret to herself, if he wanted to tell Yugito, then he would. Tsunade wondered if Naruto's life could have or would have been anything like Yugito's. She was clearly socially repressed, and probably had never had a single friend.

"Hmph. Whatever."

* * *

_Next day…_

"Ah, baa-chan, why'd you have to wake me up so early?" Naruto whined, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He had trouble sleeping last night, due to both his teammates being in the hospital, again, and Kakashi certainly hadn't been much help.

"Oh, nothing much, gaki. Just thought I'd let you know that your teammates will both live, and will probably wake up sometime today. Oh, and I'm going to screw with your team dynamics by adding another member to make you guys a four-man team." Tsunade said happily.

"The hell?!?" Naruto complained. "We were on our way to becoming the Niban Sannin **(The Second Sannin)**! We can't be the Sanin if there are four of us! Why the hell do are you going to give us another teammate? Oh, kami, don't tell me its some rich civie **[2]** kid. I can't—"

"She's a jinchuriki."

Naruto froze. "Um, I don't think I heard you correctly. It sounded like you just said that—"

"She's a jinchuriki." Tsunade repeated, enjoying the way Naruto's blue eyes were trying to leave his skull.

"Another jinchuriki?" Naruto said softly. _Just like me?_

"You know, demon sealed in her, emotionally repressed, utterly hated by her village, beaten and attacked daily, that kind of jinchuriki." Tsunade said sarcastically.

Naruto swallowed. "I know what a jinchuriki is rather well, thank you very much. By how come I never knew about her before? What's her name? How old is she? Why—"

Tsunade quickly cut him off. "She's a……refugee; she just got into Konoha yesterday." It wasn't quite a lie, but she was definitely withholding information. She only wished she could see Naruto's face when he found out it was the girl he had rescued. "You know what, brat, I have paperwork to do. She's in Room 467A, but she probably won't be awake for another hour, even given her accelerated healing rate. Now scram."

* * *

As usual, Kage's mind awoke sooner than his body did. He was usually pretty lethargic unless he had an alarm clock or something to force him out of bed, other wise he would lay in bed with his eyes closed, even though he was awake.

…_let's see, last thing I remember is the blood transfusion to Hinata-hime……oh, shit! My blood isn't exactly human, is it? That……can be a problem. Let's see, what do I know about medicine or blood transfusions…_

…

…

…_nothing. Shit. I guess I better get up now…_

Kage did a mental sigh as he activated his Kokugan beneath his closed eyelids. Surveying the room, Kage noted his sword was leaning on the side of his bed and Hinata, in a hospital gown, was lying on a different bed next to his. From what he could tell, his girlfriend was breathing steadily and seemed to be doing fine. Altering the depth of his vision, Kage looked through the back of the gown to see her naked back, complete with dragon mark. She had a small scar on the upper left side of her back, yet it didn't touch the black dragon, barely missing it. In fact, it almost looked like a dragon was flying and suddenly had to dodge a projectile, and the image was caught and painted onto Hinata's back.

Deactivating his Kokugan, Kage suddenly sat up and swung his legs over the bed. He wanted to check on Hinata first, but he would be damned if he let something like yesterday happen again. _Stupid old lady. 'Stay away from anything violent, you might have a debilitating relapse.' Relapse, my ass._ Kage thought as he strapped his demon-blood blade to his left hip. _Because of that, that bastard could have killed the girl I love. _

Kage suddenly stopped as his back stiffened. _Yeah, I guess I do love her. In fact……I think I've loved her for a while now. The feeling I could never name before…_ The black haired boy shook himself, then went over to go check on his girlfriend.

Hinata was lying in bed, breathing slowly. Kage figured she was very stable and expected to wake up soon, because she was not connected to any of the medical devices around her, not even the EKG (electro-cardiogram, the heart-beat thingy). Kage decided it _was not creepy_ to stare at a girl while she's sleeping, as long as she's your girlfriend. So he did so, admiring Hinata's beautiful face as she slept, wondering how even more beautiful she would be when she fully matured. Her lips were slightly parted as she took slow, deep breaths. Stroking her long, silky, dark-blue hair? Yeah, that wasn't creepy either, Kage told himself.

"Hey, Hinata-hime. Here we are again, I guess…" Kage struggled as he thought of something to say. He never noticed Hinata's eyes opening, revealing her pale lavender irises. "I'm trying to be mad at you for diving in front of me, I really am. But I just can't stay mad at you, Hime, especially when I would do…did do the same thing. Even so, you really scared me…you do know that you and Naruto are probably the only two things that keep me sane, right? And besides, Naruto is just a brother to me; my feelings for have always been different."

Kage sighed as his thumb traced over Hinata's lips, but he still didn't notice that she was awake.

"What was it, just over a month and a half ago? That day, your birthday, Hinata-chan, the first time I understood that I felt something for you other than just friendship. I never knew just what exactly that feeling was, not until now. I know exactly what my feeling for you is. It's love, Hinata-hime, its love."

"I know I'm not a good person, Hinata-chan. I can lie, cheat, and steal without feeling the slightest bit guilty. I've killed more people than the leaves on a small tree, and I've never missed a night of sleep over it. Sometimes, I don't know what you see in me. You're perfect; you're kind and gentle, but you can do what needs to be done when it's important. You could be happy pressing flowers or fighting to protect your friends. Me? I just kill stuff and play guitar. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like I don't deserve you, in so many ways. You're the heiress to the one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, and I'm an orphan with no family name and no mon……well, just no family name, I guess. You're kind and sweet while I'm dark and cold. Like your name, you're like a ray of sunlight, always cheering up everyone around you. I'm like a dark specter." Kage was taking his analogies a little bit too far, but he honestly believed everything he said.

"But the way things turned out……I wouldn't trade it away for anything in the world. I love you, Hina…ah, crap." Kage had finally noticed that Hinata was awake (_Oh, fuck, not again_, he thought. _I'm not even going to wonder how long she was awake._), and that a single tear was trailing down her face. Kage assumed it was a tear of happiness.

"Oh, screw it." He growled.

And then he leaned forwards and kissed her. Hinata eyes widened as she kissed her boyfriend for the first time in almost a month. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warm feelings of Kage's lips…until she felt something poke her lower lip. The shy girl tried to gasp, but ended up accidentally sucking Kage's tongue into her mouth (a fact that he did not mind in the slightest). After a moment of shock, Hinata was mildly surprised to find that she enjoyed the feeling of Kage's tongue caressing her own. It was amazing. She could almost feel his apprehension in doing such a daring act, and silently appreciated the fact that he was willing to do anything and everything for her. After several long, delicious moments passed, Kage withdrew his tongue and tried to pull his head pack, but Hinata wasn't having any of it. Her tongue chased his tongue out of her mouth and into his, and Hinata was not surprised to feel that the inside of Kage's mouth was hot, just like the rest of him. Hinata gently prodded the area under Kage's tongue with her own, making a mental note to remember that spot as her boyfriend shuddered in pleasure.

Kage delicately dragged his teeth over Hinata's tongue as he pulled back, only to dip his head down and attack Hinata's exposed neck with his lips, nipping and sucking her smooth, creamy flesh. "Aishiteru, Hinata-hime." He whispered.

"Aishiteru, Kage-kimi." Hinata's voice was a barely discernable whisper, but Kage heard it loud and clear. They were just about test the limits of the saying, "Old enough to kill, old enough to have sex/drink/smoke." (The euphuism changed based on who was saying it.)

At the clearing of a throat, Kage and Hinata quickly broke apart. They saw Tsunade, the woman from before who had healed Kage and then Hinata, the Godaime Hokage. She was smirking.

Kage and Hinata both turned a deep shade of red, and Kage practically leaped into a nearby chair. He nonchalantly picked at one of the arms of the chair as he fought to force the blush off his face. After a few seconds, he thought it was under control, so he looked up to stare at the Hokage with an annoyed expression. _Kami damn it!!! That was feeling so good! Alright, time to face the music…_

"Ah, Hokage-sama, what a pleasant surprise." He bullshitted though his teeth.

"K-Ko-Konichiwa, H-H-H-Hokage-s-sama." Hinata stammered.

"Nuh uh uh, none of that!" Tsunade said in a teasing tone. "That little bit was too juicy to ignore." She sounded like a gossiping young teenager, just a few years under her physical appearance.

Kage bit his tongue, not wanting to give the woman the satisfaction of asking how long she was there. _Lets, see, Tsunade Senju of the Sannin. A great healer…and apparently a hemophiliac. How the hell do those two things go together?_ "So, uh………I'm sure you didn't come here to intrude on our personal time…"

"…so w-what are y-you here f-f-for, H-Hokage-sama?" Hinata completed Kage's sentence.

"Nothing much, just wanted to check up on Naruto-kun's teammates. In other words, since you two seem like the type to appreciate frankness, to pry all the little secrets about you two out, just because I'm nosy." Tsunade said happily. "For example, let's start with Mr. Personality, here. Are you a jinchuriki?" She asked straightforwardly.

Kage blanched, but tried to maintain his composure. "Jinchuriki? Power of a human sacrifice? What's that?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's cut the crap. I know that you two know that Naruto is the demon container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I promise you I have the best of intentions in mind for Naruto-kun. He reminds me a lot of my younger brother and my fiancée. Anything you tell me will stay between the three of us, by my honor as a Sannin."

Kage and Hinata shared a look. For a quick recap of the Sannin, one was a creepy pedophile, one was a whoring erotica author, and the last was a gambling drunk. To date, Team 7 had been attacked by one Sannin and Naruto had been thrown off a cliff by another. The current Sannin they were talking to was the roaring alcoholic/promiscuous gambler. Yet, despite all that, as the new Hokage, she could make their life very unpleasant (they really don't know her yet).

"Fine…but seriously, you can't tell anyone. Close and lock the door, please." Tsunade did so.

Kage went through a few handseals. "Fuinjutsu: Kachou Naisho **(****Sealing Technique: Audible Privacy****)**. There. No one outside this room can hear us, now."

Kage sighed as he took off his shirt. As Tsunade watched with a raised eyebrow, Kage channeled youkai into his back, and experienced once again the odd feeling of growing dragon wings. Tsunade's brown eyes were wide as the crimson appendages stretched out of Kage's back.

_What is he!?!? _From a functional viewpoint, Tsunade could see that those wings were not just for flying, the bone blades at the end of each wingtip and joint made them weapons as well. _He isn't a jinchuriki, jinchuriki are still human, at least!!! Is he…actually a demon?!?_

Kage grimaced as his wings stretched out fully. He could feel the cool air on the membranes of the wings, and flapped them experimentally, creating a small gust in the room. _Hmm…the wingspan is about ten-and-a-half to eleven feet, now…I really need to find out if I can fly…_He mused, hoping that Ryu Oni would answer him. He heard no reply, mental or otherwise. The black-haired boy looked up and was amused by the Hokage's shock. "What? Never seen a hanyou before?"

"H-Hanyou?" Tsunade repeated in shock. "You're a…half demon?!? But how? Who are you parents? What—" She trailed off, not sure what questions to ask.

Hinata, having already seen his wings, was less shocked. She was looking at his demonic appendages with interest, Byakugan activated. _My Kimi's wings… the actually have a physical form…I wonder how they would feel…_

"I know little about the circumstances of my birth." Kage admitted. "I don't know who my parents are or where I was born. All I know is that when I was very young, a dragon demon known as Ryu Oni merged with me. He claims to have done it because he lost a bet with Kami. He conversed with me for a very brief period, but now he refuses to talk to me at all. And, while we're exposing my life story…" Kage's tone was slightly sarcastic as he channeled a bit of chakra to his eyes. His pupils expanded until they covered his entire iris, and the dragon hanyou's vision expanded dramatically as he could now see in 315 degrees. "…I also have a doujutsu, the one and only wielder of the Kokugan."

…_it really isn't that big of a deal, I guess. This is really only one step away from a jinchuriki, a demon merged with a baby, instead of just sealed within. _Just as she had recovered from the shock of meeting a half-demon boy, Tsunade gasped. To say that doujutsu were rare was like saying an Akamichi was slightly overweight. There were only a handful of dojutsu in the shinobi world, and many were just legends. In fact, the only confirmed doujutsu were the Byakugan, the Sharingan, and the Rinnegan (Jiraiya claimed to have once had a pupil who possessed it, who was later killed. Tsunade was never sure if he was telling the truth, but it didn't matter anymore.). However, Tsunade knew how to deal with this surprise, at least.

"Okay…one last question, and you're free to go. I'll even tell you where to meet up with Naruto-kun. What is the mark on Hinata's back? I doubt your father would allow you to get a tattoo…"

Hinata swallowed. "A-Ano…that i-is the remnants of Orochimaru's C-Cursed Seal. During the Ch-Chunin Exams, O-Orochimaru attacked us in the Forest of D-Death. He gave me this s-seal, but it was causing problems with my b-body, so K-Kage-kun removed it."

Tsunade managed to avoid gaping. Even Jiraiya had been unable to remove the Curse Mark from a girl—Anko, that's what she was named—and the snake bastard had probably improved the mark since then. However, she did not miss the tone of near-idolization the girl had when she said Kage's name. _I wonder…_ "If you could remove the seal, why did you replace it with something else? And why didn't you remove Anko's or Sasuke's?"

Kage sighed and quickly explained half-truth that he had told Anko, Kakashi, and the Sandaime. "However, that was only partially true. While I can only disrupt the formation of a failed Curse Mark, thus preventing death, I needed to use youkai, demon energy, to do so. Quite frankly…" Kage's eyes drifted over to Hinata. "…even if it were possible to cancel Anko or Sasuke's Cursed Seal, I wouldn't feel very comfortable giving them the power of youkai, _especially_ Sasuke-teme. It can be…quite addictive if they manage to consistently draw it out. I doubt either of the two have the willpower or the morals to avoid abusing it, unlike Hinata."

_I've never even tried. _Hinata blushed slightly, and Kage continued. "Any more questions?"

Tsunade replied with a negative and let the unofficial couple go, telling them where to meet Naruto. A few minutes later, she was surrounded by several empty sake bottles.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Kage all met up in front of Room 467A. After exchanging brief pleasantries, they were going to enter the room and meet their new teammate, except Kage and Hinata didn't know about their new teammate being a jinchuriki.

Naruto was very nervous at meeting another jinchuriki. He had known Kage growing up, but a hanyou was different from a jinchuriki. Kage didn't know personally what it was like to have complete animosity and hatred directed at you 24/7. Kage never got kicked out of stores or overcharged for the basic necessities (actually, most of the time Kage went out to buy food just so that there would be no altercations). No, brothers they might be, but even the closest of family did not always understand each other.

Naruto opened the door so see a girl in blue and black toned shirt and pants. The girl had blonde hair, although it was more of a dark golden color compared to Naruto's bright yellow color. She looked up, and her green eyes met Naruto's blue eyes.

There was dead silence in the room as Naruto and Yugito looked at each other.

"Insert awkward silence here." Kage noted.

Naruto decided to be the first to talk. "Um, hi, so I'm Naruto and this is—"

"Shut up. Just shut up. I'm going to be on a team with you, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't know why that stupid woman stuck me on a team with a bunch of busybodies. Don't stick your nose into my business and I won't stick mine into yours. We're not friends; we're teammates, but as far as I'm concerned that once we're out of the field, I don't know you, got it?"

Naruto and Hinata were too shocked at the girl's sudden outburst to respond, but Kage cleared his throat, a noise that sounded suspiciously like the word, "Bitch."

Yugito instantly rounded on him, glaring at him with her green eyes. "You know nothing about me! I came here to start a new life, you have no idea what my life has been like! You could never begin to understand what I've been through!"

"Oh, here, let me play you a sad song on the world's smallest violin." Kage said sarcastically.

"Alright, both of you two knock it off!" Naruto shouted. He angrily yanked up the front of his shirt, showing the Eight Trigrams Seal on his stomach. "Of everyone in this village, _we_ know the best what you've been through."

That finally shut Yugito up as she stared at Naruto's seal, her hand subconsciously trailing up to her neck.

Kage raised an eyebrow as he quickly put two and two together. _She's another jinchuriki? Oh, shit…_

"Yeah, that's right." Naruto spat. "Don't think you're so special. Don't think you're the only one who has sufferent. I'm one too, and and Kage-nii-san is—"

"Don't fucking drag me into this." Kage cut Naruto off. "And don't drag Hinata-chan into this either."

_How deliberately vague…_Naruto thought, but accepted it. "Let's start over." He suggested.

Yugito blinked. _He's like me?... … … I guess I could give this a try._ "Nii Yugito."

"Hyuga Hinata."

There was silence for a moment as Kage did not say his name. Everyone looked at him.

"Kage…just Kage." He said in an annoyed manner.

Naruto grinned and spoke in a sincere manner. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto…future Hokage! Nice to meet you!"

* * *

* * *

**AN: **

**Anyways, this is……disappointing. In the very few number of reviews that I even got, only Epitome of Eccentricity guessed correctly that Naruto's partner would be Nii Yugito. Seriously people, I would like more reviews, it gives me a chance to improve, allowing to me write better thus increasing the readers' enjoyment, and it shows me that people are actually interested in my story.**

**Next time: "What the hell do you mean I'm a chunin?! You decide to let me know just now?"**

**[1]: Just like in the fight with Neji in canon, Naruto's clones can stay solid for a few moments after taking damage.**

**[2]: Civie: general term for civilian, used in a slightly derogatory manner by most military types.**


	14. Chapter 14: Getting Used to It

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**New poll! Once I'm done with either this story or Children of the Cloud, I'll start on the next fic. You decide!**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**Holy fuck…it's 2010 now? It's about the thousandth time I've written 2009 on my schoolwork…**

**Review Response:**

andrewmoda5033

**Yes, I've had fun slowly building up Kage's heritage. Although I already know what it's going to be, it won't actually be revealed until the beginning/middle of part two. As some of you might have guessed, there is a reason why the Kokugan has traits of both the Byakugan and the Sharingan…but who his parents are will truly blow your mind. Also, read the final A/N at the end of this chapter dealing with Kage's gradual change. I'm trying to share the Kage/Hinata and the Naruto/Yugito time equally, right now, so it's going to take a while to get to that point. **

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones**

**5/17/2010**

* * *

Chapter 14: Getting Used To It

_Training Ground 3, Later that day…_

Later that day at Team 7's training ground, the new four man team decided to have a teem meeting (decided meaning Naruto dragged them all there). He was animatedly trying to start a conversation with Yugito, who was responding with one or two word answers. Kage and Hinata were busy giving each other googily-eyes and were ignoring the other two just about completely.

Naruto did not let this fact escape his notice as the two snuck off. Yugito was busy staring at her feet, so she didn't notice, and Naruto was looking at Yugito, trying to talk to her, but he still noticed his surrogate brother and sister leaving.

"Well, first things first, since we're going to be on a team, we need to know each other's strengths and weaknesses inside out." Naruto stated. "I'm good at grapple-based taijutsu. My genjutsu sucks horribly, but I can manage to break out of most of them if I realize they're there. Probably like you, I'm good in ninjutsu due to my large chakra reserves."

"I…" Yugito shifted. She knew should would have to trust her teammates with her life, but she was still reluctant to give out information that could be used to hurt her, later. Even if Naruto was honest in not wanting to hurt her, he could still accidentally reveal the information to someone who would. This was very difficult for her; trust did not come easily to the jinchuriki of the demon cat. "…am actually…not so good in taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu. When I get really, really angry, I can channel the Nibi, but then I lose control, and I don't like doing that." Yugito said quietly.

"Not good with any jutsu? Hmm…no one would ever teach you anything, huh?" Naruto asked understandingly.

Yugito immediately nodded. "No one wanted to teach…"

"…the demon-cat …" Naruto supplied.

Yugito nodded. "…the devil child…"

"…the Nibi reborn……yeah, trust me, I've been there." Naruto said understandingly. "Honestly, I'd pretty much be in the same position as you if I didn't have people to help me."

"People are…okay with you?" Yugito asked in amazement. It was a completely foreign idea to her. People, accepting a jinchuriki? That was like water burning or lightning shooting upwards. It just didn't happen.

Naruto sighed. "Just about all of the kids our age don't know about the Kyuubi being sealed in me, but all of their parents have basically told them to stay away from me, and like obedient little sheep they listen. However, the children of many ninja usually haven't been given bad ideas about me from their parents, and some of them have even gotten to know me. Also, we, by which I mean the hidden village of Konoha, were invaded by Suna and Oto simultaneously just a little while ago. During the attack, a kid containing the Ichibi allowed it to take over completely. It would have destroyed the village, easily, cuz' all of our shinobi were busy fighting off the ninja invaders. I was able to force Shukaku back into its container, and I guess that a lot of adults are rethinking their stance towards me."

"Believe me; Konoha holds a great deal of hatred for the Kyuubi, or anything that reminds them of him. They have blamed just about anything that went wrong on him and me. When Konoha experienced a famine about 8-9 years ago, they blamed it on the Kyuubi, believing that its 'vile chakra' had seeped into the earth and killed all the crops. I once looked back in the archives and found that in the years following the Kyuubi attack, fox hunting became a very popular past time, because foxes reminded people of the Kyuubi. Within a few years, just about every single fox within 100 miles of Konoha was hunted and killed. Of course, logically, without foxes, certain prey like rats and stuff could reproduce at rapid rates. This large amount of mice and such ate huge amounts of grain and other crops, which caused a food shortage, leading to said famine."

Yugito nodded in understanding. She recalled that dogs had been very, very popular in Kumo. Particularly the hunting breeds, the ones that viciously chased, caught, and killed their intended prey. There was really no need to ask what type of animal that prey was.

"…but some people, like Kage-nii-san and Hinata-nee-chan, don't really care."

"Really? Adults would be able to think more logically than children and see us for what we really are……you'd think."

Naruto did not miss the added words at the end of Yugito's sentence. _She's still trying to hide things…when she wants to talk about them, she will._ "Hinata-nee-chan is the exact opposite of what you would call shallow. I bet she'll get along fine with you, once she knows." He assured her. _If she doesn't already._

"Hmm." Yugito said noncommittally. She pushed certain painful memories to the back of her mind. "What's up with her eyes?"

"What? You don't know?" Naruto asked, understandably shocked given the kidnapping attempt nine or ten years ago. Yugito shook her head. "Wow……she has a blood limit, the Byakugan. Hinata-chan's actually supposed to be the next clan head of the Hyuga, once she's old enough. But despite being from a big-time clan, she's pretty down-to-earth. Oh, speaking of clan-worship, if you see a kid with black hair and blue clothes, stay away from him, he's an ass." _And he might be able to tell if you're a jinchuriki once his Sharingan matures all the way._

"You mean other than your teammate…what's his name again?"

"Nah, I'm talking about Uchiha Sasuke. He has hair that look's like a duck's butt and a stick the size of the Hokage Monument stuck up his ass. Kage-nii-san is my teammate's name. Actually, we've known each other since we were seven, grew up in the same orphanage. He's my best friend, and we're brothers in all but blood, so that's why we call each other nii-san, even though we're not related. The whole jinchuriki thing doesn't freak him out cause—" Naruto caught himself. "—Cause we've known each other forever."

"He's like us, isn't he?" Yugito asked, not fooled in the least by Naruto's attempted cover-up. There had been a certain……something, in his eyes. A trace of inner torment, or perhaps a trace of inner darkness.

"No…" Naruto looked to the side awkwardly as Yugito raised an eyebrow in pointed disbelief. "Listen, I don't really feel good telling other people's secrets. If you want to know what Kage is, you'll have to ask him yourself. Look, nii-san and nee-chan are probably sparring right now."

Naruto got up and walked off abruptly. He really wanted to get off the subject of Kage being a hanyou. _Yugito definitely seems pretty sharp, but hanyou aren't exactly a common occurrence either. Kage will have to tell her eventually._

It was not hard to find where the other two members of Team 7 were, there was a cry of "Kage-kun!" Naruto and Yugito immediately rushed off in the direction of the shout. They quickly came upon a small lake.

At the side of the lake lay a Kage. His clothes were completely soaked, and his face held just a hint of paleness…the parts of his face that Naruto could see. Hinata was straddling him, her mouth over his.

"She's just giving him CPR…I think…" Naruto told Yugito, who looked confused. "…Wait a second…" Naruto paused. "…is that their tongues?" _This is too good of a chance to give up!_

* * *

Kage rolled his eyes as Naruto bombarded the blonde girl with questions. Looking at Hinata, he shifted his eyes to the side, back to Hinata, and back to the side. It was a silent invitation to sneak off. Hinata understood immediately, and gave a nod.

When they were finally out of hearing range, Kage grinned. "Finally. Honestly, Naruto's my bro and all, but even he gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Oh, Kage-kun." Hinata said in a scolding tone, although she too was smiling. "He's just exited at m-meeting another jinchuriki."

"Yeah…I bet they have a lot in common." Kage mused sadly. There was a comfortable silence for a moment.

"A-Ano…Kage-kimi?"

"Hai, Hinata-chan?"

"How did you learn Juken? I n-never taught you, and no one in the Hyuga Clan would t-teach you, so the only way for you to learn Juken w-would be to r-read the Hidden Scrolls d-directly…I-I mean, not that you would s-s-steal them…n-not that y-you couldn't, d-demo, a-ano, so h-h-how did y-you…" Hinata's voice got smaller and smaller as she went on, and she turned her face to the side, blushing slightly. She didn't mean to sound accusing, but that was how it came out.

However, Kage merely laughed. "Don't ever lose the blush or the stutter, Hinata-hime. It's really cute." Hinata just ended up blushing harder at the compliment, causing her boyfriend to laugh some more. "Anyways, I snuck in!"

"N-Nani? How? Ever since the K-Kumo incident, we're s-supposed to have guards patrolling at all times. Even if they couldn't sense y-you, how did they not see you?"

Kage smiled mysteriously. "What you don't know, you can't lie about, Hime."

Hinata pouted, but understood. If her father or another Hyuga activated their Byakugan asked her if she knew how Kage had learned Juken, she could honestly say that she didn't know. _Still, it'd be nice to know…_

"Come one, let's spar." Kage said suddenly. "I wanna see how good my Juken is."

Hinata reluctantly removed her protective jacket and took a Juken stance, Kage doing the same facing her. Both teens activated their separate doujutsu's, Hinata's almost-white eyes a stark contrast to Kage's pure black irises.

"No ninjutsu, no genjutsu, and no taijutsu other than Juken." Kage declared. "And of course, I'm not going to use my blade."

"Sounds g-good. Whenever you are ready, Kage-kun." Hinata said confidently.

There were many reasons why Kage wanted to learn and improven his Juken. First of all, practicality, as it was one of the most effective taijutsu styles available. With hundreds or even thousands of taijutsu styles in existence, it was natural that some styles would be more effective offensively against a certain style than others. With the massive number of styles, each with their pros and cons, they all formed a network, similar to rock-paper-scissors: Style 1 was particularly effective against Style 2, which could easily defeat a Style 3, but the third could demolish the first. In a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Juken was the equivalent of an exploding tag. Generally, taijutsu styles where either impact-oriented or grapple-oriented. Therefore, light brushes, like merely grazing your opponent with knuckles from a missed punch or trailing fingertips over skin from a failed grab, did absolutely nothing. You had to get a decisive action to have any effect. Juken, on the other hand……

With a single tap from a forefinger, a Juken practitioner could stop a heart, render someone unconscious, cause immediate organ failure (paralyzing someone with pain but not necessarily lethal), or more importantly in the ninja world, rob a person of the ability to use chakra. Even a missed strike could still leave the opponent numb. Kage knew he could not rely solely on his kenjutsu for physical attacks, no matter how much he may want to. Although Kage didn't like the fact that Juken had no kicks, taijutsu styles could always be modified to suit one's likes or needs. Thus, it was only logical to learn a better way to kill…in order to protect his family.

Kage wasted no time in rushing forwards, throwing a barrage of strikes at Hinata. Twisting from side to side, Hinata effortlessly dodged all the strikes, Kage's stiffened fingers flying harmlessly past her. Kage tried to take a step forwards, but was immediately was forced to take two steps back as Hinata smoothly flowed from defense to offense, brushing his strikes aside while immediately launching her own. Kage found that he could not evade them by mere inches, like Hinata did. Instead, he was forced to block them, and was forced into defense as he could not strike while blocking. In fact, he even had to take a few more steps back in order to give himself more reaction time.

Kage felt a thrill of excitement run through him. Challenging himself was one of the things that he loved to do, although not to the extent of Lee or Guy. No, but there was a certain subliminal satisfaction in pushing yourself to the limit, going just a little bit past what you thought you could do, and going even further the next time. Honestly, Kage thought his fight with Neji was rather unsatisfying. Oh, mercilessly destroying his chakra coils was fun, no doubt about that. And the look on his face? Priceless. But to be honest with himself, Kage knew that a large part of his victory was due to Neji's shock. Having unnerved his opponent from the very beginning of the fight, Kage had also been focused on causing his opponent pain, anguish, and embarrassment, which really took away from the pure enjoyment of the fight. Now, however, Kage could really fight without having to worry about any of those things. He wasn't even worried about Hinata getting hurt, she was better at Juken than Neji; the only reason why she had lost in the Chunin Exams was because she had a broken leg, and even then she had almost won. In fact, she could have won by activating Neji's Branch seal, but she wasn't the type to claim an easy victory like that, not over family in an honorable (for ninja) tournament.

Kage smile became slightly bigger. Hinata was actually forcing him back! For every strike he attempted, Hinata could block and make two or three of her own, and oftentimes the only way for Kage to avoid them was to take a step back. _She's not giving me any time to recover, either. My Hime's pressing the attack relentlessly……good._ His calm, empty look came over his face as he forced his pride in his girlfriend down. Like his face, Kage blanked out his emotions so that he could concentrate.

Hinata was relatively unsurprised that her boyfriend was doing to well with Juken, but she still had a major advantage over him in terms of experience. She noted that she was steadily backing Kage towards the lake, just another foot or two and he would step into the water. _If I can make him lose his balance, or even sink into the water, I'll win for sure!_

_There!_ Hinata did a double-palm thrust, and Kage leaped backwards, easily covering over six feet. However, when the black-haired boy's feet touched the water, they shot out chakra at the perfect strength with perfect timing, and Kage landed on the surface of the water as easily as if it were solid rock.

Kage gave Hinata a small smile that disappeared all too quickly. "Nice try." He said sincerely. "That would have gotten just about anyone else, but you're not the only one who can see out of the back of your head, Hime. Show me something new, Hinata-hime." He teased.

Hinata frowned as she darted forwards onto the water, also using chakra to support herself. The two immediately resumed their combat once again. _Kage knows that my skill in Juken is far greater than his, so he's basically trying to land a single strike, then backs up before I can retaliate with a combo set that can put him down. Even though we've both been hospitalized lately, I lost a lot of blood recently…Kage might be able to outlast me, and if he can, then all he has to do is wait for me to get tired and make a mistake. _

Hinata could feel her heart racing, could feel her blood pounding in the back of her skull as Kage backed up even further. In a single instant, Hinata knew exactly what she had to do to win this fight. As the Hyuga Heiress's two feet supported her on the surface of the water, her right foot dipped down and backwards, going under the surface of the water as her other foot supported her. Hinata made a slow feint at Kage's chest, and as his hands instinctively raised to block, Hinata flicked a half snap-kick at him, and the foot that was previously underwater sent a gush of water into Kage's face, momentarily disorienting him. Immediately, Hinata dropped down and lunged forwards. With quick, blurred taps to each thigh, the Hyuga Heiress cut off Kage's chakra supply to his legs, and he fell into the water, as he was unable to keep himself afloat.

_Time to show Kage-kimi one of the things I've learned! Snake-Ram-Tiger-Horse-Snake-Rabbit-Horse-Snake-Rabbit, _"Suiro no Jutsu!" Before Kage could react to suddenly being dunked in water, he was sucked up into an orb of water, held just above the surface of the lake.

Kage was amazed. _That's one of the jutsu on the Suiton scroll I gave her, the same one that Zabuza used! Hinata-chan's water chakra control must really be improving…_ "Excellent. I yield, Hinata-hime." At least, that was what he tried to say, but the words only escaped as bubbles of air coming from his mouth.

"Do you surrender, Kimi?" Hinata teased good-naturedly, not understanding what the dragon hanyou had said. It was rare that Hinata was able to beat Kage in taijutsu, usually his Long Ying style was about on equal footing with her Juken, maybe just a little bit higher. Kage never went easy on her, not wanting to "coddle her", by his own admission. Hinata was actually glad that Kage never allowed her a false win, even when she was feeling down, because this way it forced her to improve even more. It also just made her victory all the sweeter.

_Release the jutsu, Hime!_ "Mmmph, MMMMMPHH!" Kage bubbled. _What? Kakashi-sensei obviously didn't have a breathing problem when he was in this! Did he use some sort of jutsu to breath in water, or is it his mask? I don't care! _"MMMMMPPPPHH!"

Hinata's smile faded as she noticed the look of panic on Kage's face, and decided to release the jutsu. "Kai!" She said, trying to release the prison of water. Nothing happened. With growing panic, Hinata realized that she had never actually released the jutsu on command, when she was mastering it she practiced by holding the orb in place until her concentration on control or chakra ran out, at which point the water fell. "Kai!" The dark-blue haired girl repeated, but still nothing happened. "K-K-Kage-kun, I don't know how to release it!"

_What do you mean you don't know how to release it!_ Kage screamed mentally. He was now trying to hold what little air he had left in his lungs. Ordinarily, he would have been able to hold his breath for longer, but he had already wasted a lot of air by trying to scream. His lungs began to burn in pain, and darkness started to creep in at the edge of his vision. He accidentally released his breath and instinctively tried to suck in another, but earned himself a lungful of water for his efforts. Kage immediately "exhaled" the water by spitting it out, but could not hold his empty lungs together as the process repeated itself multiple times.

Hinata made half of the ram seal in her left hand and pulsed her chakra as hard as she could. "KAI!" At the same time, Kage used his last effort to release chakra from all of his tenketsu, trying to do what was basically a motionless Kaiten, and promptly fell unconscious. With a twisting feeling, the water collapsed, and Kage's limp body fell towards the surface of the water before Hinata managed to catch him.

Running chakra throughout her body to temporarily strengthen her muscles, Hinata grabbed Kage and sprinted over to the shore. Setting her boyfriend down, Hinata realized with horror that he wasn't breathing. The Hyuga Heiress immediately dove onto Kage and set her mouth over his, her long dark-blue hair framing both their faces. She pinched Kage's nose and exhaled into his mouth. She lifted up and pressed on Kage's chest to make him release the breath before giving him another lungful of air. Hinata really only had a vague idea of what she was doing, but she understood the basic concept…enough.

With a jerk, Kage's head whipped to the side as he started vomiting water. He coughed violently as he tried to sit up but failed, disoriented from the minute and a half that he had been unconscious. "Ohhhhhh……" Kage moaned as more water dribbled out of his mouth. _What just happened? Oh, right, note to self: do not try to breathe water again. _"That……sucked." He managed to say.

"KAGE-KUN!" Torn between hysteria and relief, Hinata glomped Kage. The disoriented hanyou fell back into a prone position once more, Hinata directly on top of him.

"Hime…can't……breathe…" Kage gasped. Hinata immediately let go and shot up. She was about to apologize, but Kage grabbed her by the head and pulled her back down, kissing her aggressively. After their short, passionate liplock, Kage let go with a satisfied sigh, and Hinata's head sank down to rest on his chest.

"Sorry." Kage mumbled. "That was amazing. The kiss and the fight, 'cept the end." _I would have preferred to not almost drown, though…_

Hinata blushed. "Gomen nasai…I didn't m-mean to—" Hinata trailed off as Kage looked her in the eyes. She blushed at the warmth those dark brown eyes held, affection that Kage showed to no other person. She knew that Kage had already forgiven her for the incident.

"Oh, come here, you…" The dragon hanyou murmured, and Hinata dipped her head down intentionally to kiss her boyfriend. Their lips met gently, and Kage leaned back to let Hinata dictate the passion of their kiss. Tentatively, Hinata slid her tongue between their lips and into Kage's mouth. Kage caressed the underside of Hinata's tongue with his own, and relished in the pleased shudder that ran up her body. Hinata felt a heat surrounding her body, burning deliciously near the pit of her stomach. But the heat was not Kage's half-demon temperature, nor was it caused by the sun. No, Hinata felt the heat welling up inside of her, a feeling that she had never felt before. It coursed through her, and Hinata wanted more. Her body shuddered as waves of sensation rolled over her, originating from her core. Eventually, however, the two broke apart breathlessly.

"Did you feel that, my kimi?" Hinata whispered.

Kage gave her an odd look. "No, but I could tell you were enjoying it."

Hinata sighed in frustration. "It was…a-amazing. Like, like, I was on fire, but instead of p-pain there was…pleasure. It sounds silly, sorry…"

Kage gave her his odd half-smile, which Hinata read as him being amused at her explanation, but not in a making-fun-of sort of way. "That doesn't sound silly at all. I don't quite get it though…so show me." He said gently, and they resumed their kiss. In the next few moments, Kage could almost understand what Hinata had meant. He felt an almost…animalistic urge to…to…

…to _claim_ her, for lack of a better word. He wanted to place his lips on not just her mouth, but on her delicious neck, her smooth back, her developing chest, her soft thighs; everywhere. He wanted to suckle on Hinata's neck, to make her release those soft, tempting moans of pleasure, and to leave a mark to let everyone know that she was his, and his alone. But he couldn't; people would notice if Hinata had sudden, unexplainable hickeys. Their relationship was still a secret, not even Naruto knew, right? If anyone found out, like Hinata's father, the results could be disastrous. Kage needed to raise his status in the village before he could even be considered worthy enough to court the Hyuga Heiress. No, he would have to be satisfied with the knowledge that Hinata loved him; that they belonged to each other in their minds.

_But maybe……Hinata-hime is already marked_. Kage thought as his fingers ran down Hinata's back, gently tracing her vertebrae though her black t-shirt. Hinata, blushing madly, gently slipped her underneath Kage's shirt to feel his abs. _The dragon-mark…that mark was made by me, by my own yokai, when I saved her from Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. I am the only one who could have made it (unless there's another dragon hanyou out there, which I doubt,) and it can never be removed. Now that I think about it, it's better than any hickey, scar, or tattoo. It is my lover's mark to you, Hime. _

All too quickly, however, a voice interrupted the two teens.

"So, Hinata-chan, since you two are doing tongue, this means that this isn't the first time, right?"

Kage and Hinata both broke apart and froze. Slowly, Hinata turned around hesitantly to see a smirking Naruto. _No! He wasn't supposed to find out!_ Then her mind registered what Naruto had just said Hinata immediately turned a dark, dark red. Her light lavender eyes slowly rolled back, and she slumped onto Kage, unconscious.

[1]

Kage groaned. _I was enjoying that so much!_ "You suck so, so hard, nii-san." _I'll find a way to get you back...later._

* * *

Naruto smirked as Hinata fell unconscious, slumping onto Kage's chest.

"You suck so, so hard, nii-san." His brother grumbled. "How……how long have you known?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he thought. "Actually, for a while. Even though you guys hid it pretty well, I've lived with you for what, six years? Just from the way you looked at nee-chan, I could tell that you considered her more than a sister for quite some time. I'd say…since the mission in the Land of Waves?"

"Hmm." Kage said noncommittally, although the black-haired boy winced inwardly. _Did we really have feelings for each other that early? Probably, we just didn't know it. Hell, it took me till yesterday to figure out I loved her; or rather, that the emotion I felt for her was love._

The jinchuriki of the Kyuubi smirked. "Let's leave the two lovebirds alone, Yugito. Come on, I want to see where you're at in terms of combat skills." He eagerly bounded several feet away from Yugito and faced her in a loose fighting position. "Throw whatever you've got at me." Naruto said confidently.

Yugito glared at him, although Naruto could detect a little bit of nervousness in her eyes. "That's probably not a good idea. One of us could get hurt—"

"So?" Naruto smiled at her. "We'll both heal. Heck, I've had my heart stop before."

_That's not it… _Yugito shook her head. "I guess my healing factor isn't as strong as yours, then. My wounds will heal, but it takes hours. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to take a major injury as well as you."

"Then I'll be careful."

"But…"

In a flash of understanding, Naruto saw the cause of Yugito's hesitancy. She wasn't afraid of getting hurt, nor was she afraid of hurting Naruto. Hell, she wasn't even afraid of showing her current skill level. No, she was afraid of 'scaring' Naruto and her new friends away. In her own mind, she equated all parts of her kunoichi lifestyle with the fact that she was the jinchuriki of the Nibi no Bakeneko **(Two-Tailed Demon Cat)**. For all of her life up until now, it had been so.

For now, the only people Yugito was sure that they knew about her demonic tenant were the Hokage and Naruto. Hinata and Kage seemed to know that Naruto was a jinchuriki, but they didn't know about her. The whole concept of new friends was foreign to Yugito, and she was unsure how to proceed.

Naruto grinned. It was just like jumping off a high cliff into water. Sometimes, someone had to give you a little push. "Don't hold back."

Yugito had a look of panic on her face as Naruto charged her.

She jumped back, trying to keep out of striking distance from Naruto, but the blonde boy pushed relentlessly forwards. Yugito quickly realized that Naruto could chase her faster than she could get away.

Yugito's green eyes widened as adrenaline coursed through her. _What is he doing! _Yugito ducked and twisted to the side as Naruto's kick slammed into a tree where her head used to be, shattering the bark with a loud crack. Instead of striking back, the neko jinchuriki maneuvered so that the tree was between her and Naruto.

Suddenly, she froze as she felt cold metal touch her neck.

"I said, don't hold back." Naruto whispered into her ear from behind. Yugito's eyes widened as the Naruto who had struck the tree grinned cheekily at her before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. The real Naruto held the knife to Yugito's throat for a moment longer, as if to say: _look what happens when you try to hold back…don't do it anymore_.

Anger welled up in Yugito. _He's playing with me!_ The blonde girl was well aware of the limits of her own strength, no matter how she sometimes tried to cover it up with bravado and bluster. But this, this _boy_ was taunting her!

Yugito gritted her teeth and formed five handseals, Ram-Boar-Ox-Dog-Snake, Naruto's view of her hands blocked from her body. "Kawarimi no Jutsu."

In the ensuring jutsu, Naruto suddenly lost track of Yugito, as a overly large puff of smoke covered both combatants. In the haze, Naruto felt his kunai ripped from his hand, and he immediately threw himself to the side, feeling a whoosh of air brush the top of his head. With a detached air of trepidation, Naruto noted he couldn't tell if it was a fist or a blade that had nearly hit him. The blonde teen quickly backpedaled out of the smoke of cloud, immediately regaining visibility.

Naruto stared suspiciously at the smoke cloud; it was hanging around for an unnaturally long time. _That much excess smoke is a clear sign that Yugito used too much chakra for such a simple jutsu. So, it seems she has the same chakra overload problem as me. Clever, though, to use a double body replacement jutsu; the first one she switched herself with a log, causing me to step back because I thought she had escaped, and the second one returned her to her original position, where she then took my kunai and tried to strike me. Not only that, Yugito also created double the amount of smoke by using the jutsu twice, basically ensuring that I had no visibility. I wonder, though, did she use too much chakra on purpose, or is her chakra control just bad, like mine? Tiger-Ox- Dog-Rabbit-Snake—_

"Fūton: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)**." Naruto murmured, using a weak gust of wind to blow away the dust and smoke.

The smoke dissipated, Naruto's jutsu purposefully not having enough chakra to destroy the surrounding area. However, as the cloud faded away, Yugito was nowhere to be found.

Naruto needed no Byakugan to sense Yugito's foot about to strike the back of his head. The blonde teen crouched, letting the kick fly over his head, and swept Yugito's leg out from under her. As she fell, Naruto grabbed her wrists and pinned them next to her head as he straddled her body, preventing her from getting up or moving much more than her eyes.

Naruto ignored their sensual position as he lay on top of Yugito's back as he pinned her to the ground. He could practically feel her anger, along with something else, coming from his fellow jinchuriki, and decided not to say any smartass comments. Wordlessly, he got up.

Yugito rolled over, prepared to continue fighting, but then she looked up into Naruto's eyes.

"I want you to trust us, but I can't make you trust us." Naruto said. "At the very least, just know that we aren't out to get you. Any one of us, Hinata-nee-chan, Kage-nii-san, or I could kill you if we wanted to, they way you are now. If we wanted you dead, you'd die. But we aren't out to get you. We want to help you, Yugito-chan, but you need to trust us."

Yugito shivered a little bit, then nodded. She took Naruto's hand, and he helped her up, clasping her arm in a friendly manner as he did so.

"Welcome to Team 7."

* * *

Kage sat there with his back against a tree and his unconscious girlfriend in his lap, watching his surrogate brother and new teammate spar. He idly curled a lock of Hinata's dark blue hair around his finger as he inhaled her scent deeply. With his enhanced hanyou senses, Kage had realized that different peoples' scents tasted differently. Unlike most beings, who smelled with their noses, Kage could 'smell' with his tongue, tasted the different aromas people had. For example, Orochimaru's scent had the strong taste of rancid, pungent snake oil. It was so strong that people who had been near him smelled of it also. Naruto's scent, on the other hand, tasted like ramen and an earthly smell Kage assume was foxes. _No big surprise there._ Kage also noted that female scents were more noticeable than male scents. Ino, his devoted but unwanted fangirl, smelled like flowers, and that Tenten girl smelled like polishing oil used to clean weapons. But there was one person's scent that fascinated Kage above all others.

That person was Hinata. Her scent tasted sweet, not overbearingly so, but it definitely had a strong presence. Kage had spent so much time with the Hyuga Heiress that he literally had her scent memorized and could describe it off the top of her head. _It starts off sweet, not the sugary sweetness of candy or even fruit, but a syrupy sweetness, almost like honey, but not quite. Then it changes and the sweetness matures just slightly; the best way to describe it would be to call it warm, if warm was a flavor. Then, as it fades away, there's just a hint of cinnamon. _Kage did not need to taste Hinata's scent again to describe it, but inhaled her aroma deeply just because he enjoyed it so much.

Kage offhandedly wondered if he could ever track someone by scent, like an Inuzuka, but immediately discarded the idea. He just couldn't pick up faint scents that lingered, only scents that were actively being let off by someone who was close by. _Maybe Naruto-nii-san could, if he focused youkai to enhance his nose…oh, did Hinata just move slightly? I think she's starting to wake up…damn Naruto…_ Now, Hinata was more asleep than unconscious.

"Wake up, Hime." Kage whispered.

"Don't want to. So w-warm…" Hinata mumbled back, nuzzling deeper into her 'pillow', which happened to be Kage's chest. It took about two seconds for her to realize where she was, and Hinata immediately shot upwards, her face beet red as she looked at her grinning boyfriend. This only made her more embarrassed, so she hid her face in the closest thing…which happened to be Kage's shirt.

_She even stutters when she's half-asleep…that's so adorable…_

"So how'd I do? Be honest." Kage asked, taciturnly giving a way for Hinata to brush away her embarrassment. Honestly, he rather liked it when she did something cute like that, but if she wanted to take her mind off it, who was he to disagree? _That trick she pulled right before she hit my legs was pure genius. For a split second, she was just a blur…_

"Well, your f-footwork is a little bit sloppy; you're just not used to using the Juken style. Also, you get too close. Your strikes should be just at the very edge of your reach; instead, they're too close to your b-body. Juken strikes don't need any force, just the minimum contact with skin. That's why Juken can work through clothing or even regular a-armor; it relies on the chakra instead of f-force. You're treating your strikes like a punch, they have too much physical p-power and not enough reach. For example, if I hit a wall with a Juken strike, I could punch a h-hole in it with my chakra just by barely touching it with my fingers. However, if you hit a wall with a Juken strike, you would definitely still make a hole with your chakra, but your fingers would probably be broken because your m-motion had the physical force of a punch." Hinata admitted, and Kage winced. _For Hinata to say that, it must be really bad…if it were only slightly off, her phrasing would have been "Your footwork could use a little improvement." or something like that…_ "A-Ano…g-gomen nasai, Kage-kun."

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan. I'll just have to work on it some more. Look, I think they're done." Kage said, as Naruto offered Yugito a hand up from the ground.

"Well, what'd you think of her?" Naruto asked, walking over to his surrogate family. "I have a few ideas, but I want a perspective from outside the fight."

"Hmm. Well, for starters, Yugito, your taijutsu form is incredibly sloppy. It was so bad, I couldn't even tell what style it was." Kage said bluntly. "Also, you formed both the Ram and the Tiger seals incorrectly when you made that Bushin. Thirdly, you seemed to be unable to focus on Naruto; instead, you were always shifting your gaze in all directions."

"B-But we both know there's a r-reason for those things." Hinata added. Yugito got the feeling that when the dark-haired girl said 'we', she was not talking about Yugito and herself, but Kage and Hinata. "No one w-wanted to teach you a-anything, probably. Because of…" She trailed off, but Kage continued.

"…the whole jinchuriki thing going on." He finished blandly.

_They're……not what I expected. _Yugito thought. _Naruto was right…somehow, they know about my resident, and they don't really seem to care. Then again, they do seem a little off…that girl is stuttering weirdly, and the boy is acting like the word jinchuriki is a synonym for blonde. And what was that thing they were doing before? Any why is she sitting in his lap?_

"However, you do seem to have a good idea of how a ninja should fight. There are too many ninja out there, mostly genin but several chunin and even a few jonin, that charge right into a fight with minimal strategy or forethought. Ninja are guerrilla fighters, not bezerkers or even samurai. We don't care if we kill an enemy in a one-on-one duel or with a knife in the back. Ninja can have some sort of personal honor, but we don't have to rigidly adhere to an outdated set of fighting principles. Speaking of which, you showed a good grip of tactics and improvisation when fighting me. The way you used kawarimi as a smoke screen was really ingenious." Naruto broke into Yugito's reverie.

"Oh, and you should at least master Kawarimi no jutsu to a higher level. You actually don't _have _to say the name of a jutsu or perform handseals, those are both just methods to focus your chakra. Once you get better at it, you won't need to say the name of the jutsu out loud, that does nothing but tell your opponent what you're about to do. If you get really good at it, you can do it without any handseals at all, just like Kage-nii-san. But don't worry. You're our teammate, now, so we're going to help out any way we can."

"Hai." Hinata comfirmed.

Kage stared back at his brother. "Yes…but asides from your naïve optimism, brother……does Yugito even have a place to stay? Or how about clothes? Weapons, habits, talents? We know next to nothing about this situation."

"I…actually haven't thought about that. I don't have a place to stay." Yugito admitted. "I don't have any clothes either…I'm a nuke-nin; I didn't exactly have the luxury of packing."

Naruto smacked his forehead. "And you decide to tell us this now? Geez, where did you think you were going to sleep tonight?"

Yugito shrugged carelessly. "Wherever it's warm." Kage's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

Naruto was shocked. "What! No, not gonna happen. You're staying with us, then. We have a few extra rooms at our place."

"I'll help her look f-for clothes, tomorrow." Hinata offered.

"I'll get the honorary sake to celebrate our new member." Kage deadpanned, causing everyone to look at him strangely. "What? Just kidding, jeesh."

Everyone kept staring at him, and Kage sweatdropped. "Um…I have an idea. See you guys at the house."

He jumped up and ran off, Hinata still in his arms.

"That…was weirder than usual." Naruto deadpanned. "Come on, I'll show you my…our new home."

* * *

"Kage-kimi? Where are w-we going?"

"To your _home_, hime. You see, I have an idea……"

* * *

A branch member poked his head into Hiashi's office. "Hyuga-sama? Your daughter and her teammate wishes to have an audience with you."

Hiashi sighed as he shuffled a few papers to straighten then. It was actually quite ridiculous how many forms he needed to review and confirm. Even after all these years, Hiashi was still shocked at certain outlandish requests, both from outside of the clan and within. For example, he had to double-check all of the Hyuga Clans purchases, such as robe masses, battle gear, food supplies for Clan dinners, sandals, even the wooden frames for the paper walls that needed to be repaired! The amount of revenue needed to sustain a large, active Clan was outrageous! And some of the requests from the Clan members were no less so!

As a Clan that focused on tradition, the Hyuga Compound did not have advanced modern technology. Oh, certain creature comforts like air conditioning, heating, running water, hot tubs, and electricity was most certainly provided. But some things certainly seemed extraneous, to Hiashi at least. Quite a majority of the branch members, including a few Elders even, had submitted a petition for a 'break room' in the Hyuga Compoud, complete with a widescreen TV! To Hiashi, this was pure nonsense. What ninja would waste his time mindlessly staring at an electronic screen at letting his or her mind and skills rot?

After all, the Hyuga was first and foremost a _ninja_ clan. Unreasonable things like television were best left for the civilians, like the mindless sheep they acted like. Unfortunately, Hiashi admitted to himself, being the head of a ninja clan meant that he often had to put his personal desires aside for the greater good (like his daughters' happiness, at times). He hoped this wasn't one of those times.

As Hinata walked in with her teammate, Hiashi made sure none of his disappointment showed when it was her black-haired teammate, Kage, instead of Naruto. (Hiashi would have liked to meet Naruto, but an influential Clan Head simply did not invite a so-called orphan to have a friendly chat. Oh, the impropriety that would be. Not to mention the rumors that would start to spread.)

"Hello, Hinata, Kage."

"Father." Hinata inclined her head respectfully.

Kage, on the other hand, did a three-quarters bow from the waist, hands folded in front of him in a respectful gesture. "Greetings, Hiashi-_san_." There was just the slightest inflection on the –_san_, not quite disrespectful, but certainly not deferential.

Hiashi reached to the side and rung a bell. "So, Kage, can I get you something to drink? Water, tea? Soda?"

The black-haired boy almost fell out of his chair. _Why is he being polite to me?_ However, he quickly regained his composure in an instant and replied. "Tea, please. White Ceylon, if you have it."

Hinata almost sent a look of surprise at her secret boyfriend, but held herself in check. _I hope my Kimi knows exactly what he's doing…Actually, knowing him (which I do very well); Kage-kun knows exactly what he is doing. _

Now, it was Hiashi's turn to be surprised. First of all, he had expected the boy to ask for either water or soda, being a young teen. Tea had a long history among the upper class. Unlike water, soda, or alcohol, it was extremely difficult to place poison into tea without changing the flavor. An expert on tea could easily tell if a given strain had another substance placed into it, say hemlock or nightshade or any other lethal herb. Thus, by selection and coincidence, nobles began to become tea aficionados, those who didn't were easily poisoned and thus eliminated by their peers who were more meticulous in their choice of beverage.

Secondly, Hiashi had been long involved in politics, he did not miss Kage's maneuver nor pass it off as a coincidence. Ceylon White tea, also known as 'Silver Tips' or 'Virgin White', was an incredibly expensive brand of tea because of the rarity of the leaves and the time it took to properly prepare. By asking to a very rare, expensive brand of tea, Kage was testing the limits and thus the sincerity of Hiashi's hospitality, while also goading Hiashi while remaining as civil as possible by subtly insinuating that the Hyuga may not have extensive resources.

Against his will, Hiashi found himself amused. It had been a long time since he had played the cloak-and-dagger game of politics, where words were used like blades, and the affects were often no less deadly. Nowadays, the Hyuga Elders had mostly forgone the base subtleties of words, preferring to use their elevated status in the Hyuga Clan to get what they wanted. Among skilled politicians, that was the equivalent of using a war hammer to push a thumb tack into Styrofoam. Completely unnecessary. _Let's see, which branch member is on service duty this week…_ Hiashi mused. _…ah, I remember. This will be an excellent method to learn more about Kage's personality._

Right on time, the guard peered into Hiashi's office. "Yes, Hyuga-sama?"

"Tell the kitchen duty to send in a pot of this last summer's harvest of Ceylon White."

"As you command, Hyuga-sama." The guard nodded and left. Hiashi idly drummed his fingers on his desk. "I would like to congratulate you and your team for your excellent performance in the Chunin Exams. I think, had the Exams concluded under regular circumstances, both you _and_ Naruto would have been promoted to Chunin."

Kage nodded, accepting the compliment, but could not let Hiashi get away with his verbal insinuation. "Thank you…although, had this been under…regular circumstances, as you put it, Orochimaru would not have attacked Team 7 in the Forest of Death, so Hinata-san's leg would not have been broken, thus enabling her to defeat her………cousin." Kage said the last word with a measured amount of distaste. "If the tournament drawings were to be the same, I would have been paired against Hinata-san. I am not sure who would have won." Kage said modestly. "Perhaps Hinata-san would have defeated me, and gone on to win the entire tournament."

Hinata blushed in praise, a fact that Hiashi seemed to not notice. Being a ninja Clan, the Hyuga Clan had no foolish concepts about lack of equality between the sexes, and did not harbor the chauvinistic view that men were someone inexplicably better than women. Particularly given their preferred style of combat, women and men were on equal ground in terms of potential power. Of the great Hyuga warriors their clan had produced, the ratio of women to men was almost an even one to one. In fact, the legendary founder of the Hyuga, Hitomi Hyuga, was a woman. Even one of the Hyuga Elders was a woman.

However, being a traditional Clan meant that quite a few…outdated social practices were still continued. In terms of social status, although not respect, women generally had less of a presence in the inner politics of the Hyuga Clan. The previously mentioned female Elder had only gained her position because she had been the strongest ninja, period, in the Hyuga Clan for her entire generation. And so, at the ripe age of 62, Hitami Hyuga was grudgingly accepted by the other Elders (and only then because she could beat the snot out of them, despite most of them being almost a decade or so younger than her). Such was the struggle of women in the Hyuga Clan, although they had every opportunity to become as strong as the men, they had to work twice as hard to earn half the recognition.

That was why Hinata was so pleased when Kage bluntly asserted her worth. It wasn't her father's fault that he talked about her like she wasn't standing right in front of him. It was just the way he was raised to think.

"Now tell me, what is the purpose of this little social call, hmmm?" Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose Kage would like to have another _conversation_ with me, would he?" Hiashi's verbal jab at the boy's previous bluntness was rewarded with a wince from Kage.

"No, father." _When did Kage-kun talk to father?_ Hinata wondered."Actually, it is I who h-has the request. As of earlier this morning, we learned that a fourth member has been added to our team. With our new member, our previous team dynamic has been changed, a-ano, and we will have to rethink a large part of our strategies. As such, I would like to…" Hinata gulped, but then stared her father in the eyes. "…stay with Naruto-san and K-Kage-san. The level of our training will be v-very intense, and we will but much more efficient if we are all in the same household, with less time wasted getting together and coordinating our activities."

Hiashi never ceased to be surprised at his daughter's new behavior. While she was still the same gentle, soft-spoken girl, Hinata had been showing more and more of her inner steel lately. Hiashi often wondered how he could have ever thought she was weak. All Hiashi had wanted was to make sure Hinata was strong enough to survive in the ninja world, so that she wouldn't end up raped and murdered like so many of the unfortunate, weak kunoichi of her profession. When she had not lived up to Hiashi's expectations, he had demeaned her ceaselessly, hoping she would either struggle to disprove his apparent disgust or give up being a kunoichi altogether; either choice would make her safer.

But now, Hiashi could see that all his taunts did was cause Hinata to withdraw into herself, afraid to make much of an effort at all, lest her attempts be harangued just like all her other actions. However, at the same time, she didn't want to give up because she thought that would disappoint her father any more. By the time she was 10, Hinata was determined to become a kunoichi, yet she was too afraid to strive to be better, so she never practiced or trained. Ironically, Hiashi's attempts had backfired, sending Hinata straight down the very path he had sought to protect her from.

It was only through the efforts of Naruto and Kage that Hinata escaped from her slump of depression. Hinata received a gentleness her family had never shown her and the young girl's potential soon revealed itself. After all, you don't sharpen the kunai by banging it on rocks; you sharpen it by pressing the edge gently but firmly along a whetstone.

Hiashi nodded to himeslf. Besides, what Hinata was saying made sense. The addition of a single member could be a major hazard rather than help if the new member didn't know the team strategies, plans, or methods. Every member of a shinobi team had to know what every twitch of the finger, every nod, every silent signal meant.

"Hmm, I would have to declare this an absolute impossibility…under regular circumstances. The Hyuga Heiress cannot simply stay in a house with two teenage boys, lest her honor be compromised. It would typically been seen as very unseemly and coarse, given the nature of teenage hormones" Hiashi noted. _Plus, I don't really like that idea on a personal level, given the fact that Hinata is my daughter, but I don't really have any right to talk from that angle._

"While normally, this would be an _impossibility_… I suppose I can make an exception. Letting Hinata stay with her team will facilitate a very useful transfer of _needed information_. Provided nothing happens that would stain the honor of the _Hyuga Clan_, and that Hinata is not harmed."

"I can assure you that nothing will happen to stain the honor of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi-_san_. Hinata will not be harmed, baring accidents in training, sparring, or other such unforeseeable events. You have my word." Kage supplied. Inwardly, he thought: _Basically, he wants me to tell him how I got into the Hyuga Compound in exchange for Hinata training with us. And I just agreed._

_He's telling the truth. _Hiashi sighed as he massaged his temples. _The Clan Elders are going to have a field day about this……but I think I can hold them off._

"Very well, then. Hinata, go pack your bags. Kage, please stay here. I wish to talk to you." _Obviously._

Hinata stood up and bowed. "Arigato, father." She stole one more concerned glance at Kage before leaving.

_Hmm? _Kage raised an eyebrow. _So, it's time for the interrogation, ne?_

"Please, have a seat, Kage." Hiashi said politely. "The tea will be here shortly."

_He's testing me._ Kage realized, even as he nodded politely and kept his face in a neutral, genial expression. In a brief moment of indecision, Kage was unsure how to proceed. He wouldn't be able to sit without removing his scabbard from its place on his side, and once he took it off, Kage would have to place it on his left side or right side.

This tradition dated back to the days of samurai, when the common warrior was a ronin. When seated with a guest, the ronin would place his sheathed blade on either his right side or his left side depending on what his relationship with his guest was. If he placed his sword on his left side, where it could be easily drawn, he was giving the unspoken statement that he was not on friendly terms with his guest, and either expected to be attacked at any moment or would attack his guest at the slightest provocation. If he placed his sword on his right side, where it was difficult to draw swiftly for a right handed person, he was giving his guest a sign of trust, that he did not fear betrayal or ambush. As time passed, the sense of sword placement became less about trust and more about respect, where it eventually degraded to a many of etiquette rather than practicality.

However, Kage had no doubt that this tradition was still upheld in the tradition-bearing Hyuga Clan, on the rare occasions when they did have a ronin (or sword-wielding ninja) as a guest. Kage could not afford to offend Hiashi, lest he risk destroying whatever possibility of friendly terms with the man in the future (and as Hiashi the father of his girlfriend, Kage did not want that at all). If Kage feigned ignorance of tradition and placed his katana on his left side, he risked offending Hiashi. However, it would be impossible to conceal the extraneous movement of removing the scabbard bound to his left hip and placing it on his right side, Kage risked appearing subservient, as if his respect could be bought by favors or money.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Kage removed his sword and placed it on his right side as he smoothly sat down. _I can wield my katana as well in my left hand as my right hand. Ambidextrousness definitely has its uses, and this way I avoid offending Hiashi-teme._

Three knocks sounded on the doorframe outside the room. "Enter." Hiashi commanded, looking pleased with himself.

In walked Neji Hyuga, _former_ prodigy of the Hyuga Clan.

* * *

"I just don't get you people." Yugito complained as they walked to Naruto and Kage's house. "I mean, you guys are treating me great and all, but so many things just don't make sense."

"Like what?"

"Like that girl and that boy, your teammates who you call nee-chan and nii-san. What's up with her? She was stuttering a lot. And your 'brother' seems emotionally dead. He might as well have been saying I was blonde, instead of a jinchuriki, for all the care he showed. Does he even know what a demon-host is? I'd expect him to show a little bit more…fear. At least Hinata looked a little bit nervous."

Naruto gave her a cross look. "And do you enjoy it when people are terrified of you?"

Yugito looked away. "No…but you know what I mean."

Naruto sighed.

"No, Yugito, Kage-nii-san understands what a demon is…and he knows what we are: the hosts, not the demons themselves. Just a little while back, we (by which I mean myself, nee-chan, and Kage) met another Jinchuriki, except he had no control over his demon. Kage and Hinata both know we're not like that." Naruto snorted. "And please, don't flatter yourself. Hinata is just a little…timid, at times. It's not because you're a demon host."

Yugito brushed a stray lock of her golden hair out of her eyes. "Then what was that thing they were doing with their mouths? They seem rather young to be rutting."

"Eh?" Naruto asked, confused. He belatedly understood Yugito's phrasing as his face turned slightly red. _Eww…not a mental image I wanted. _"Oh, no no no!" Naruto said hurriedly. "No, they're…" He held up his left pinky finger.

Yugito gave him a blank look. "What?" She asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "They're an item, but they thought they could keep it a secret from me, which was why I just had to tease them." He received an empty stare. "You know, together. Dating? Going out? A couple? Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Yugito still looked at him, not understanding. "Oh, for kami's sake, girl, they're like a married couple, but at a lesser level of attachment. You know what marriage is, right? A man and a woman, together, usually have children."

Realization dawned on Yugito's face, and Naruto's hopes rose. "Oh, you mean like a concubine, right?" The cat jinchuriki asked, causing the other blonde to face-fault.

"No……" Naruto ground his palm into his face as he thought. _She's basically been completely sheltered from normal relationships because she hasn't been able to live a normal life. Holy crap, I could have turned out like this! Or worse, maybe I would chase after a girl who obviously had no feelings for me whatsoever while ignoring someone who secretly cared for me! Whatever...I'll help her get used to normal life…normal for a ninja, at least. _

"No, it's more like……like best friends, except on a whole new level. They know each other; all their little habits, mannerisms, likes and dislikes, everything. It's like you look at them when they're looking at each other, and its like no one else even exists. I really…don't know how do describe it. You should ask one of them. Maybe, one day, you'll find someone, too." Naruto knew that Yugito actually had a decent chance of finding someone to love, as her jinchuriki status wasn't known throughout the village, like his own. _I could always leave Konoha and start over new……no, I would never leave my friends and family behind._ Naruto had a small list of 'friends', as they were mostly just acquaintances he was on relatively good terms with, but Kage and Hinata were a whole different matter.

"Look, we're here."

Yugito stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Naruto's 'house'. To someone like her, it seemed like practically a mansion. _This just doesn't make sense either. If I had a place, it would be completely trashed the instant I looked away. The villagers would probably rig it to explode, too, so that once I got home I would get caught in the blast._ "I just don't get it. You and I are just so much alike, yet our lives turned out so differently! I've had nothing, NOTHING, no food, no home, no respect, no money, no love, no friends; while you somehow have everything…it's just not fair!" She cried.

Naruto smiled sadly. "What ever gave you the impression that life was fair?" He asked softly, rhetorical but not mocking. "I'm going to come clean with you, Yugito; I don't want there to be any secrets between us. Like you, Kage and I started out with nothing. We were just two orphans with no one out there to protect us but each other. We had to lie, steal, cheat, fight, and steal some more just to get enough food to survive. We were nothing…but we made ourselves something. I guess I just got lucky that I met Kage-nii-san, and he got lucky in meeting me." Naruto watched Yugito closely. His fellow jinchuriki had a look of extreme sympathy and depression, and Naruto could not help but wonder if she had had a close friend in Kumo who was able to see past the jinchuriki to see the human within. If so, Yugito's possible friend must have been killed for her to have such a saddened expression.

"I honestly don't know what I would have done without nii-san." Naruto admitted. "Sometimes, I think back on the way I've been treated by some of the…less enlightened villagers, and then I start to think what might have happened. It scares me, really. I guess I might have become an attention-hungry brat who fought for all the wrong reasons. Or I might have turned to hatred and bloodshed to give my life meaning. Maybe I might have even committed suicide in despair." Naruto shrugged. "In the end, it doesn't matter. I can't focus on 'maybes'. Just on what is, and what I am. As for the money and the house…we stole the money for our first house. This one, I bought with my inheritance."

"My full name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Uzumaki was the name of my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who died giving birth to me. Namikaze…my father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage…and the man who sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune in me. It was a last ditch effort, the Kyuubi was about to stumble into the most heavily populated part of Konoha, and no one else could stop it. He used a kinjutsu that allowed him to seal the Demon Fox in my baby body, less than a day old. He wasn't trying to make a weapon or an outcast out of him, dad just wanted to protect his village, and give me, his son, and the power to protect myself and others in the ninja profession I would most likely follow. Honestly, he kind of expected the villagers to see me as a hero for containing the Kyuubi no Kitsune and preventing it from destroying the rest of the village. Guess that kind of failed epically. Well, almost all of the civilians basically see me as the Fox incarnate, which is rather hypocritical given how they praised their beloved Yondaime's fuinjutsu skills. Most of the ninja trust that dad's seal worked, which it does, and they understand that I'm not the Fox, even if they don't necessarily like me." Naruto brightened as he remembered pranks numbering in the hundreds……..of thousands.

"But you can't tell anyone…not that many people would believe you. I want to prove to this village that I am not the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but I want to do it because of my own skills and reputation, not that of my father's. Come on in, let's get you set up in a bed."

* * *

Hiashi watched Kage carefully, looking for any sign of guilt or regret upon seeing the bandaged, shuffling boy. There was absolutely none. In fact…

Kage had a small on his face as he saw his crippled victim. He let out a small, concentrated amount of _Oni Sakki_ **(Demonic Bloodthirst **or** Demonic Killing Intent)**, something only a hanyou or a jinchuriki could do. It was a relatively small amount, so he was able to direct it fully at Neji without Hiashi feeling a thing, but being basically concentrated _hated and bloodlust straight from a demon_, a small amount was all that was needed. The clinking of the ceramic cups was clearly audible in the silent room as Neji's eyes widened, his hands shaking uncontrollable as his body tried to react in a primal manner due to the large amount of fear he was feeling.

Neji tried to slide one foot in front of the other, tried to move forwards. However, because he was just starting to regain the use of his muscles, and said muscles were doing their very best to ignore him, walking was easier said than done. He tried to shake of the feeling of terror as best he could, but was confused as to where it was coming from. All in all, he managed to do an odd, shuffling gait, barely keeping the precious ceramic cups and teapot from falling and shattering.

Kage turned his head to the side under the pretense of facing Neji, so that his smirk, unseen by Hiashi as his back was to the Hyuga Clan Leader, grew into a full blown smile. As Neji approached closer and closer, the pressure of the demonic KI increased on the former prodigy. The closer Neji got, the harder it was for him to take another step, and the more rapidly the clinks came. Much like trying to approach a massive fan blowing in his direction, the closer Neji got to the source, the harder he was pushed away. Sweat began to trickle down his brow at the seemingly simple feat of walking, and Neji and Kage's eyes met. In a flash, Neji knew that Kage was responsible for the strange force, he just didn't know what or how. But it scared him, badly.

"Well? What are you waiting for, boy? Serve us." Kage smirked as Hiashi spoke impatiently. The aged Hyuuga was not unaware of what Kage was doing, but he was ignorant of its true origin, mistaking it for ordinary killing intent that he could simply not sense. Hiashi simply did not care what the Branch Member boy suffered……and the fact that said Branch Member boy had tried to kill his daughter. Nephew or no, Hiashi had limits to family hospitality.

With effort, Neji managed to pour the tea very, very, very slowly, but barely managed to avoid spilling a drop. His task done, Neji practically fled as soon as Hiashi dismissed him, with one more glance over his shoulder at Kage.

Kage snorted as he took a large sip of tea, the near-boiling beverage not bothering him one bit. "Makes you wonder how he was called the strongest genin. I'd bet Hinata-ch-san could have easily beaten him, had her leg not been broken."

"Perhaps. She is a very strong kunoichi." Hiashi said, noting the way Kage's eyes practically jumped out of his head as he began to choke on his tea. _Excellent. He's off balance. _"Speaking of which, I am…very curious as to how you managed to defeat Neji. He _**was**_ considered a prodigy in the Hyuga Clan." There it was, out in the open. Hiashi managed to question Kage without any implication of wrongdoing, such as stealing clan techniques.

_In other words, tell me how you got into the Compound in exchange for me helping my own daughter get stronger. _Kage frowned at the mental translation and sighed, placing his teacup back onto the table. "I'm going to be completely blunt. You only have two guards patrolling at any one time, and they are always in the same spot less than 10 meters away from each other. Due to chakra constraints, they cannot have their Byakugan activated all day long, so they take turns, one having activated Byakugan while the other rests. It is only when someone comes into view that they will both activate their Byakugan to give the appearance of constant vigilance. It was a relatively easy task for me to stay in the blind spot of the one guard, one I memorized the pattern of their watching. Once I was in the Hyuuga Compound, I was protected by your own manners."

Hiashi frowned, and Kage quickly explained.

"I assumed that the Hyuga would consider it…highly improper for one to spy upon other's private lives. Naturally, it would be rude and uncourteous to even accidentally see into another's room, so having activated Byakugan in anywhere other than the dojo would be considered poor etiquette. Therefore, you rely on the two guards to catch all potential intruders, and within the compound you have basically no way to detect an intruder. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Once I was inside, I just had to observe a few kata, read a few scrolls-" Kage made a dismissive hand motion. "-and the rest wasn't too hard."

Hiashi paled. He had always wondered how the Kumo ambassador had managed to infiltrate the Hyuga Compound and almost kidnap Hinata. The fact that a thirteen-year-old boy had managed to replicate the same feat of slipping past the guards, albeit without malignant intentions, did not say good things about Hyuga security. Hiashi would have to make sure that guarding protocol was changed to be more effective.

_But even still…_Hiashi mused. _He still had under a month to figure out how to infiltrate and learn enough Juken to be skilled enough to defeat Neji. If someone told me a child could pick up an entirely new fighting style, let alone the Juken, in a single month, I wouldn't have believed it. But this boy…oh, if he were born into the Hyuga, the legends it would create. Even so, his ability to sense the 361 tenketsu, making up for his lack of Byakugan, is prodigious in and of itself._

A knock sounded at the door, and Hinata entered, looking between her secret boyfriend and her father apprehensively. "I am done packing, father."

"Good. You may be excused, both of you. Good luck with your training and future missions." Kage and Hinata both nodded, relieved that the ordeal was finally over. They both bowed and turned to leave. Hinata went through the door first, and Kage was about to follow when Hiashi called out. "Oh, and Kage? Do make sure nothing inappropriate happens with my daughter."

Kage frowned. "Of course, Hiashi-san. Good night." He left.

Hiashi smiled to himself in his empty office. That time, Kage had said his name with just a little bit more respect and a little bit less sarcasm. He was genuinely impressed with the boy. Strong, determined, skilled, cunning, yet was not overconfident and did not let his ego get in the way of his actions, as was clearly showed by the boy coming here and acting with respect. As a matter of fact, Hiashi would have considered the boy prime son-in-law material if it weren't for the fact that he was an orphan. It was simply the way things worked; to marry into the Hyuga Clan, one must have both great skill and great wealth. Still, Hiashi mused, it would be interesting to see if Kage's ability to sense tenketsu would be inherited by his children, and if so, what kind of skills would that child have if he or she also had the Byakugan. Hiashi knew such a person would become an incredibly formidable shinobi. However, due to aforementioned lack of fiscal resources, Kage would never be able to marry into the Main Branch. Maybe the boy could be convinced to marry a Branch Member woman at some later point.

With a sigh, Hiashi continued doing paperwork.

* * *

Night slowly wound down as the four inhabitants of the house settled down to sleep. Naruto and Yugito were both on the second story, while Kage and Hinata were both on the ground floor.

It took a little fumbling around to get Hinata and Yugito comfortable. Hinata had to unpack her belongings; hanging up some clothes in her new room's closet and settling the rest of her convenience items in a nearby bathroom.

Yugito had to borrow an extra pair of nightclothes from Hinata, as she didn't have her own.

It actually took far longer than expected. Naruto and Kage decided to do the gentlemanly thing and leave once Hinata and Yugito started unpacking their undergarments. So, with nothing else to do, Naruto decided to take a shower and Kage disappeared, leaving the house for 'stuff', as he eloquently explained.

* * *

Kage approached the memorial area, the place where all ninja who were KIA or MIA were remembered. To his mild surprise, his white-haired sensei was standing there, staring at the stone. He wasn't just standing there reading his Icha Icha book; he was actually staring intently at the list of names on the memorial rock.

"I didn't think I'd find you here, Kakashi-sensei." Kage noted as he approached the Copy-Nin. "Was someone you knew killed in the invasion?"

Kakashi sighed. "No……it happened a long time ago. Forgive me, but I don't want to talk about it. Why are you here?"

Kage looked at the memorial stone, which was shaped like the blade of a kunai. Or rather, he was looking at one name in particular, a new addition. He was silent for a long time, and Kakashi waited, understanding the need for silence. "I guess…" Kage paused. "…for the same reason she's here."

Neither student nor sensei turned around as a purple-haired woman joined them, both having already sensed her.

"I understand." Kakashi said. _For Hayate, huh?_ "I'll leave you two alone." He was walking away when Kage's voice finally called out.

"Kakashi-sensei……for what it's worth, I don't think you should dwell on the past. I don't know who they are, but you did. Maybe you should think on how they would react if they knew how you are acting towards their deaths."

Kakashi stiffened, but continued walking. "I'll keep it in mind. Later."

Kage stepped aside and allowed the older woman to place the flowers at the base of the memorial. The black-haired boy remained silent as she knelt and prayed for the death of her lover. After several moments, she stood up with wet eyes.

"Thank you, Kage. So few people have had time to remember Hayate-kun, with all the things going on, lately." She said, knowing that Hayate was the only person Kage knew who had been killed in the invasion.

"Don't thank me, Yugao-sensei." Kage shook his head. A tear ran from the corner of Kage's eye, even though his face remained passive. He remembered the long hours having proper swordsmanship drilled into him by his two teachers. He remembered Hayate's pride when his student quickly picked up a style or kata particularly quickly. He remembered how Hayate was one of the best people who he had ever known; he had never let his disease get in the way of anything he did. Yugao and Hayate were the first two adults whom he had come to trust.

"You and Hayate have been some of the few solid factors in my life. Only you two were willing to accept an orphan as a student. Only you two were willing to teach me the Way of the Blade, when I could not pay for kenjutsu lessons. This…is the least I can do. This, and live a good life, the way he would have wanted me to. I've never told anyone……but you and Hayate……were always like a mother and father to me."

The ANBU kunoichi was teary-eyed as Kage's words truck a cord deep within her. "He proposed to me, did you know? We were going to get married. We…he…I…"

Kage's eyes widened as his teacher's hand trailed down to her stomach. "Y-You're…pregnant!"

Yugao nodded an affirmative. "I thought about getting an abortion. It…It just reminds me too much of him."

"So you're going to get rid of the last remainder of Hayate? You're just going to wipe all trace of him out of your life! You're just going to try to forget about him! Get rid of—" Kage growled. Suddenly, he looked to the side, ashamed of his outburst. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's fully your right and decision."

Yugao shook her head. "No, you're right. I'm going to keep the baby. I can't just dishonor Hayate-kun's memory and get rid of one of the few things he left behind. I'm going to raise our child, take a break from ninja life and focus on just being a mother. It'll be hard…" Yugao trailed off. She really had no way to earn money if she stopped being a kunoichi for a while. She didn't have any relatives that could take care of her kid while she was on missions, and she wasn't going to leave her child alone, so finding an income would be hard. Kage, sensing the issue, quickly spoke.

"If you ever need anything, come find me. I'll do whatever I can do help. Money is not an issue." Kage assured her. "I……I need to go. I don't want to be too much like Kakashi, late to everything because I was here, do I? See you later…kaa-san."

Yugao managed a weak smile as her student walked away. _Thank you………soichi._

* * *

_Late at night…_

Pale, pupil-less eyes stared nervously in the darkness at the closed door. _Do it or don't to it. The longer you wait out here, the less sleep you'll get, and the worse you'll do tomorrow. _The owner of the eyes told herself. _Either he accepts you, or he rejects you._

Steeling herself, Hinata softly stepped forwards and opened the door to Kage's room. She stepped forwards and softly closed the door behind her, not making so much as a click.

The inside of the room was nearly pitch black, which didn't really surprise the Hyuga Heiress. Both the Uchiha and Hyuga's respective doujutsu both made the owner particularly sensitive to light, even at night. While this was very useful in the field, it also made sleeping difficult. Thus a person with the Sharingan or Byakugan needed almost complete darkness to sleep. It only made sense that Kage's Kokugan sensitized him in the same way. In fact, Hinata could just barely make out the silhouette of Kage's bed even with her own sensitive eyes.

Hinata quietly took one step, then a second, slowly moving towards her boyfriend's bed, her heart pounding wildly. Doubts flashed through her mind as her confidence began to waver, and she wondered if she might accidentally be destroying their relationship. Suddenly, Hinata was filled with panic with the thought of losing Kage. Images of Kage with other girls flickered through Hinata's mind, and she cringed at each one.

Kage with Ino. They were eating together as Kage's favorite sushi restaurant. Ino was chatting away and Kage was listening attentively, not giving the blonde the usual perfunctory blank look, but actually listening. Even worse, he was actually smiling tenderly at the Yamanaka as she complained of gaining weight.

"_You're not fat, Ino-chan, you're becoming matronly. Here, have some of this unagi." Kage held a piece of sushi and tried to feed it to Ino, who made a half-hearted attempt at refusting. Kage persisted. "Come on, Ino-hime, you're eating for two, now, remember?"_

Hinata twitched.

Kage with Tenten. The two were sparring in a generic dojo, Kage's katana clashing against Tenten's naginata. Black demon-iron and grey steel met in violent clashes, yet there was a feral excitement on both combatants face. In almost an exact simulation of their fight at the Chunin Exams, Kage cut through Tenten's blouse and bra, except this time, his reaction was different. Both katana and naginata fell to the floor as their owners discarded them for a different activity. Kage pushed Tenten to the floor and followed her there, and they began to take advantage of the dojo's solutide.

Hinata turned to flee. _I can't possibly do this. I'll give Kage-kun the wrong idea. I'm not some sort of, of, slut! I don't want him to think I'm a fushidara…_

Hinata had scarcely taken one step when the felt the slightest brush of air behind her, like the wind of death, and a cold, sharp edge against her throat. Hinata froze. She heard the person behind her take one deep breath, then another.

"……Hinata-hime?" Kage asked sleepily, taking the blade away from Hinata's neck. Before she could response, Kage maneuvered both of them onto the bed and promptly fell asleep within seconds.

Hinata felt her eyelids starting to become heavy as she watched the outline of Kage's face in the darkness. In his warm, feverish embrace, Hinata smiled as she fell asleep. _…I guess he's okay with it, then…… _

* * *

Yugito shifted out of her bed as she heard a faint sound at the very edges of her hearing. _I can't sleep anyways…_ Things were just so wrong, and yet they were so right, too. Clean clothes? A warm, clean place to sleep? A soft bed? Yugito was simply not used to these things; she had spent the last 12 years of her life in rags, sleeping in gutters _because it was warm there_, or on the cold, hard ground when she couldn't find a safe spot in the filth of others. People hated her _that much_, they patrolled the gutters and sewers just for the chance to catch her with her guard down. Such……new, strange experiences put Yugito on edge…yet, somehow, she enjoyed these small creature comforts at the same time. If it wasn't for Naruto being a jinchuriki just like her, Yugito would have suspected that Team 7 was setting her up so that they could kill her in her sleep.

Sock-covered feet—actual socks, clean and without holes in them! Imagine that!—hit the ground as Yugito got out of bed. She found the stairs with minimal difficulty and began her ascent upwards, which was where the sound was coming from. As she got to the second floor and began to continue onto the roof, Yugito could tell that the sound was music, some kind of stringed instrument. As she finally opened the door and stood on the rooftop, slightly chilled by the cold air, she could see the silhouette of a spiky haired figure, outlined by the moonlight, holding a guitar. Naruto was sitting on the edge of the roof, eyes closed, facing the moon.

Naruto began to strum, sensing the presence of the girl behind him but ignoring her as he got into the rhythm of the song. Like many of the lyrics he and Kage had come up with together, it would be best with four people, (Naruto, Kage, and a clone of each), but it sounded just fine on its own as well.

_A warning, to the people ,  
The good and the evil,  
This…is…war,  
_

To the soldier, the civilian,  
The martyr, the victim,  
This…is…war,

It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie,  
The moment to live and the moment to die,  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to FIIIIIIIGHT!

To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge, of the Earth,  
It's a brave new world from the last to the first.

_To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge of the Earth,  
It's a brave new world, It's a brave new wooooooorld._

Naruto strummed a few chords as he prepared for the next set of lyrics._  
_

_A warning, to the prophet,  
The liar, the honest,  
_

_This…is…war…  
_

_To the leader, the pariah, the victim, the Messiah,  
_

_This…is…waaaaaar…  
_

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie,  
The moment to live and the moment to die,  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to FIIIIIIIGHT1  
_

_To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge of the Earth.  
It's a brave new world from the last to the first.  
_

_To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge of the Earth,  
It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world, it's a Brave, NEW WOOOOOOORLD!  
_

Naruto paused again, counting the beat off in his head. This was where Kage would come in with some serious drumming…but he was asleep in his own bed, supposedly. Naruto picked up the song again. The next part was really supposed to be a duet…but Naruto managed on his own quite well.

_I…do…believe…in…the light.  
Raise your hands into the sky.  
The fight is done.  
Lift your hands toward the sun._

_…_

_Toward the sun…  
…toward the sun…  
…toward the sun …_

_The war is won.  
The war is won.  
_

_To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge of the Earth,  
It's a brave new world from the last to the first.  
_

_To the right, to the left,  
We will fight, to the death,  
To the Edge of the Earth,  
It's a brave new world, it's a brave new world, it's a brave new woooooorld._

…_Brave new world……_

…_The war is won…_

…_The war is won…_

…_a brave new wooooooooooooorrrlld……  
_

Naruto let the last few notes trail off. Yugito found she didn't want to break the peaceful silence. This high above the ground, even the chirping of the crickets could barely be heard.

"Sorry."

Yugito started. _He knew I was here?_ "Huh?"

Naruto looked at her over his shoulder. "For waking you up. I couldn't sleep, so I just came up here to play." _Too much on my mind._

"S'okay. I couldn't sleep either."

Naruto nodded in absent relief. "It's cool, then. Alright, I think I've let out enough steam." He swung his feet oven onto the roof and stood up. "I'm going to head in and get some rest, now. You should too, it'll be a busy day tomorrow."

And with that, the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune went inside, leaving the jinchuriki of the Nibi no Bakeneko behind, silent, confused, and contemplative.

* * *

**AN: **

**I just know I'm going to get flak for even putting a reference to abortion in here. Just to let everybody know, I'm pro-choice, but I also happen to believe that most of the time it shouldn't be necessary. Honestly, you really shouldn't be doing those things with someone unless your relationship is at a very close point, in which case you probably want to have a child together anyways. If you don't, then you should be using preventative measures, 'cause getting abortions are damn expensive, and you're all screwy in the head for a while. (Not that I would know from personal experience, being a guy, but from hearing it and seeing it in my friends and relatives.) Anyways, it's completely understandable how Yugao is confused and distraught, but you can see her final decision.**

**[1]: COCKBLOCKED! **

**There's so much fluff…**

**And also, notice how Kage is very slowly acting less and less human, in both his actions and his speech. Eventually, this will change the overall plot in a way none of you will expect…**

**[2]: The song is "This is War." By 30 Seconds to Mars. Of course, I don't own it.**

**[X]: Finally, Yugito has been introduced, and we're starting to get some background on her. How will Team 7 be changed with this new dynamic? Meanwhile, tensions oscillate at the Hyuga.**

**Eventually, Neji will make up with Kage and Hinata, due to two reasons. One, he will actually feel bad about what he did. Two, Kage scares the shit out of him, and Neji knows it is in the best interest of his health to get onto Kage's good side if he doesn't want to die in a dark alley, just another anonymous corpse.**


	15. Chapter 15: Hope

**A/N: This fic contains swearing, violence, references to drug use, adult situations, and in general everything else that make a fic rated M.**

**NEW: **

**New poll! Once I'm done with either this story or Children of the Cloud, I'll start on the next fic. You decide!**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, when Sakura told Naruto she loved him, he would have punched her in the face as hard as he could (Which is pretty damn hard when he's in Perfect Sage Mode) and asked her how it felt. **

**Review Response:**

andrewmoda5033

**Yes, I've had fun slowly building up Kage's heritage. Although I already know what it's going to be, it won't actually be revealed until the beginning/middle of part two. As some of you might have guessed, there is a reason why the Kokugan has traits of both the Byakugan and the Sharingan…but who his parents are will truly blow your mind. Also, read the final A/N at the end of this chapter dealing with Kage's gradual change.**

**Also, sorry guys for not updating in an ungodly amount of time. I'm not going to play the 'computer problems' card, but I've been pretty busy prepping for college and college essays. I've been working on this chapter for months, and it was approaching over 75+ words because I couldn't figure out a way to cut it off. I've cut it down to two or three separate chapters, so you guys won't have to wait another half year for a chapter. Also, I was dealing with some relationship issues, in which I like liked someone, but she didn't like me back. I was depressed for a bit; first time I've ever gotten shot down, but I'm over it now. I know, I'm awesome like that.**

**What's that sound? *Throws chair at person muttering the word narcissist***

* * *

"Talking."

"YELLING!"

_Thoughts_ or emphasis on _certain_ words.

**Demonic voice or evil tones.**

**DEMONIC YELLING!**

_**Demonic telepathy or mental communication.**_

**10/12/2010**

* * *

Chapter 15: Hope?

"Thirteen years, Hatake. Thirteen years! That's how long I've been saving this village from the wrath of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." Naruto spat. "And what have I received? Hatred. Disgust. Beatings. Did you know, that no one ever taught me how to read? Five years of schooling, and not a single teacher wanted to teach the _demon boy_ how to write his own fucking name. Kage and I had to teach ourselves. There is nothing, _nothing_ that makes us inclined to be the slightest bit loyal to this village."

"Not even Sandaime-sama's memory, Naruto-kun? I thought you wanted to be Hokage? What about me, your own sensei?" Kakashi tried to plead with Naruto. He wasn't sure how, or when, or even why, but he was tied up in his own kitchen, bound with special chakra resistant rope.

Rage twisted Naruto's face into a snarl. "My entire _life_ has been shit because of that fool! He was not only idealistic, but also utterly incompetent! HE thought that the people would see me as a hero if he told them I housed the Kyuubi, but at the same time he stole my inheritance from me! Then he sent me into that hellhole of an orphanage before I was a week old! Do you know what I drank, as a baby? DO YOU? I drank rat poison and urine, when I should have been drinking milk! I ate gristle and bone chips, when I should have been eating baby formula! And that Kami-damn fool never once checked on me to see how I was doing. NOT ONCE! I prayed to Kami every day and every night, but salvation never came!" Naruto's snarl died down into a smirk. "Well, I'm done praying to Kami. I've started praying to someone else…I've started praying to Kyuubi himself. And guess what?" The smirk turned feral. "He answered."

Naruto pulled out a kunai and a small whetstone out of his pockets and started sharpening the blade. The harsh scraping sounds seemed so horribly out of place in the brightly lit kitchen. Naruto continued speaking. "And becoming Hokage? Please. I could be the strongest shinobi in a century, the wisest and most competent leader in written history, and the people of Konoha still wouldn't accept me as their Hokage. Tell me, sensei, why is it that the group of ANBU that watched helplessly as Orochimaru slew Sarutobi, the group of teachers that evacuated the civilians, hell, even Shikamaru for being bait while chasing the Ichibi, why is it that they were all given public praise by the Council, while I, the only one who could and did stop Gaara from destroying Konoha, did not receive so much as a 'thank you'? It's because Konoha has turned their back on me, and so I have turned my back on them."

Naruto tested the blade on his pinky finger. A light touch, and he drew a single drop of blood. "Just like you turned you back on me, Hatake. Tell me, how did it feel, knowing that the son of your sensei and surrogate father figure was living in a daily hell, yet do nothing?" Naruto reached out towards Kakashi's face. He tried to jerk away, but the chair held him fast as Naruto removed the headband covering his Sharingan Eye. "To me die, because you were late. Just. Like. _Usual._"

Kakashi strained against the chakra resistant rope, but he remained bound to the chair. "Not everyone hates you, Naruto. Stop this before it's too late! You haven't hurt anybody yet, and you don't have to. Just untie me, and we can put this all behind us."

"Funny…you make it sound like I don't want to hurt anyone." Naruto's fist came around in a vicious right hook, slamming into Kakashi's jaw hard enough to knock the entire chair, prisoner and all, over. From the floor, Kakashi spat out two bloody teeth. "Well I've got a newsflash for you, _sensei_. I want to hurt people, very, very much."

Naruto bent down and held Kakashi's head in place while he placed the kunai at the corner of Kakashi's Sharingan eye. "I would say this is going to hurt me hurt more than it will hurt you…" he whispered. "but that would be a lie."

Kakashi screamed as Naruto carved out Obito's eye. When the blonde was finished, he slit Kakahi's wrists so that he would die a slow death. He held out the eye in his palm and grinned at his former sensei.

"I'm going to hang this on a necklace, just so that you can watch as your beloved village fucking burns."

Somehow, despite being removed from Kakashi's eye and being dead, he could still see out of the Sharingan eye. Kakashi could only watch helplessly as Naruto transformed into a giant, orange, nine-tailed fox and went on a rampage through Konoha. However, it seemed to lack the full strength of the original Kyuubi no Kitsune, as the surviving shinobi defenders began to group together and used group synchronized jutsu on it, occasionally a massive synchronized fireball or lightning bolt would make Naruto(?) flinch slightly in pain. In last ditch efforts, a 10-man squadron of ANBU would often use up all their chakra at once just to make a single highly powered jutsu, using their very life forces to fuel their attacks. For a moment, it almost seemed as if Naruto/Kyuubi might be stopped.

But then, another beast joined him. An enormous, light-blue furred cat appeared out of nowhere and began to aid the fox in its rampage. And then a goliath-sized dragon, with scales a crimson red and eyes of pure black, and a marginally smaller dark-blue scaled dragon with eyes of pure white, joined the previous two. Working together, the four monsters easily destroyed the rest of Konoha, and Kakashi could hear mocking laughter before he felt a pain in his eye and his vision went completely dark as the beasts went on to conquer the world.

* * *

With a scream, Kakashi bolted up out of bed, his heartbeat racing. As he tried to catch his breath, the Copy Ninja wiped sweat off his forehead. He hadn't had nightmares that bad since the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War. _Whoa…that was some dream. Was it just a nightmare…or was it an omen?_ Deciding it was instead his conscience, Kakashi made a mental note to push for Naruto's promotion to chunin, given that the final decisions on the promotions had _still_ not been made. Although he was not a Clan Head and didn't have an actual vote in the Ninja Council, as the Copy Ninja, war hero, and student of the Yondaime, his words still held considerable sway.

Kakashi took a deep breath as he gingerly pressed his fingers against his left eye. Obito's eye. _The village that so many people died protecting…Minato-sensei, Obito, Rin-chan...my dream is right, it is ungrateful. Because the Civilian Council will probably vote unanimously against it, Naruto's promotion probably won't receive the two-thirds majority required by the sum of the members of the Shinobi Council and the Civilian Council, and Tsunade-sama, having just been elected, can't directly use her executive power to promote Naruto, lest she be seen as a biased Hokage or one that plays favorites._

_Minato-sensei…I wonder, how would you react if you saw the way Konoha treats your son? Some people are gradually changing their minds about him, but I fear that there are some that will always see him as a demon…_

* * *

Yugito almost reached the ceiling as she jumped out of bed, awakened by a screeching, blaring noise. _What? Where?_ Her gaze darted from side to side, finally alighting on the source of the noise: her alarm clock. She stared at it for a moment then relaxed, fiddling with the buttons and nobs until the noise ceased.

_I'm getting jumpy._

Was Konoha really any different from Kumo? Yugito knew firsthand just how badly people could treat the scapegoat of their hatred, but she had hoped that tendency to lash out was a trait only of the people of Kumogakure no Sato. Apparently, though, it was a universal human trait, if Naruto's treatment at the hands of Konohagakure no Sato served as a confirmation.

_But they don't know what I am. Here, I'm starting over again. But will things really be any different? _Yugito knew better than to freely give out trust. She trusted Naruto, Hinata, Kage, and the Godaime with her secret mostly because she didn't really have any other choice. All she could do was hope for the best.

_Hope…when was the last time there was something I could put my hope in?_

* * *

Hinata gently traced Kage's jawline as he slept. Moments ago, she had woken up in her dragon hanyou's embrace, and nothing in the world had felt more perfect, or right. The warm feeling of being loved, of feeling needed, Hinata just couldn't give up. She wished they could stay like this forever.

"Look at her…she's beautiful, don't you think, Hinata-chan?" Kage suddenly mumbled, his brow twitching.

Hinata felt a strong tug of jealously. _Who could he be dreaming about? Ino? Tenten? Saku—nah. Whoever it is, she isn't me._ Hinata told herself it was just a dream; Kage probably thought she was beautiful too. _But if he really thought someone other than me was beautiful, what place would he be more honest, other than in his mind, than in a dream?_ Hinata thought in a depressed manner.

"Anko?" [1]

Hinata's jaw dropped, utterly horrified and scandalized. _Anko? The second proctor from the Chunin Exams? Oh my Kami, Kage-kimi has a fetish for older women!_

"Yeah, I guess so." Kage's lips twitched into a smile as his dream continued. "My eyes? No, no." Hinata started as Kage's arm moved to drape over her. "I think she has my hair. She has your eyes." Kage trailed off into a mumble. Hinata was now confused; what could he be talking about. _Anko had purplish hair, didn't she? But her eyes were pupilless, just like a Hyuga's. _She silently prayed that her boyfriend would continue narrating his dreams unconsciously, and apparently, Kami obliged her.

"Well, then, what should we name her?"

Realization washed over Hinata. Kage-kun wasn't talking about some other girl, he was dreaming about having children! Hinata blushed. _I shouldn't have even thought that._

"Ayu? How about Hirame? Or…" the sleeping boy trailed off into a snore. "…our little hatchling…"

_Kage's kind of weird._ Hinata thought affectionately. Learning firsthand about all of Kage's little quirks and habits made him all the more endearing to the Hyuga Heiress. She got a warm feeling inside her, even as she stifled a giggle at the fact that Kage unconsciously referred to their children as a 'hatchling'. It was awfully…draconic.

"…kra kekkei…"

Hinata allowed her head to rest on Kage's shoulder once more as she listened to his heartbeat. _I could definitely get used to this…_ Sure, Kage talked in his sleep, but his voice was so quiet that Hinata wouldn't hear him unless she was already awake. Besides, the things he said were hilarious…Hinata allowed herself to relax completely, and tried to fall asleep again once more…Of course, reality rarely is so accommodating. Hinata felt that she had just fallen asleep when the ringing of the alarm clock stunned her into harsh wakefulness.

Kage's typical reaction was to jump out of bed, grab his sword, and finding that one of his arms was occupied, flicked his wrist to unsheathe his sword and cut cleanly through his alarm clock, silencing the screeching noise.

…_damn. Not again. _The total sum of his thoughts. _And I was having such a nice dream, too…I think…_

"You're kind of w-weird, Kage-kimi." Hinata sighed with a smile. "Demo, Aishiteru."

* * *

Naruto yawned as he sleepily entered the kitchen. _Shouldn't have stayed up late last night singing, you baka._ He fumbled around and started setting the kitchen table, only stopping himself when he realized he had given everybody five chopsticks. "Wake up, baka." He muttered to himself. "Hmmph, now I'm talking to myself. Naruto, stop talking to yourself."

"Um…good, morning?" Yugito's voice came hesitantly from the doorway of the kitchen, causing the Kyuubi jinchuriki's head to look up.

Naruto's face darkened a shade of red as he facepalmed. _Way to go, dumbass. Just talk to yourself about talking to yourself out loud._ "Um, yeah. You want some cereal or toast?"

"What's cereal?" Yugito questioned.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what cereal is?"

"No, but I know what a serial killer is." Yugito said. "Does that have something to do with 'cereal'? What's 'toast', either?"

Naruto looked up at Yugito's face and saw that she was completely serious. "No," he explained, "cereal is like oats or wheat. Toast is…um, wow…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. _Toast is just…toast? How do you explain what it is to someone who doesn't know?_ "Eh, it's basically like weakly burnt bread—" Seeing the look of distaste on Yugito's face, Naruto quickly added, "but you can add stuff to it, like butter, or jam, yeah? Like…screw it, sit right there."

…_he seems oddly comfortable with showing his back to me…_ Yugito thought as she sat in the chair that Naruto pointed at. _It must be a trust thing._ She decided as she watched the Kyuubi jinchuriki put a piece of bread into an odd, shiny rectangular machine, muttering about people who've never eaten toast before.

* * *

Kage fingered through the clothes in his closet absentmindedly. _Should I wear red and black, red and black, red and black, red and black, or red and black. Kami-damn, I need new clothes. But red and black are such great colors!_ "Hmm. Ne, Hime. I'm not complaining in the least…"

Hinata fiddled with a red lava lamp in Kage's room as she listened to him waffle through a list of excuses. She knew that this was simply the way he talked: whenever he was about to say something that might be construed as awkward or mean to someone he cared about, he always apologized in advance.

"…and really, any guy would love to have a beautiful girl sleeping in his bed. But, uh…" Kage scratched the back of his head and looked at Hinata, who suddenly found the floor of Kage's room to be very interesting. "…was there any, you know, deeper reason for last night?"

Hinata froze up. _Lie!_ Her inner voice told her. _Don't tell him! Do not appear weak! Do not appear needy!_ But she couldn't lie. Not to Kage, and not to herself. "I…ano, I like you, Kage-kun. It's because I l-love you." Hinata whispered, hoping the young dragon hanyou would understand the somewhat vague statement.

"…Eh?" Kage asked eloquently. So much for understanding.

"I'm scared." Hinata whimpered. "I l-love you so much. I need to be close to you, while I still c-can. While you still want me. I'm scared that one day you'll find a girl who you like better than me."

"There are no girls I could like better than you—"

"But you don't know that! What if one day you f-found someone else, and you wanted to spend the rest of your life with her instead of me?" The words came pouring out, like water built up behind a dam that had suddenly been released. Like the unstoppable force of a mighty river, the sheer weight of Hinata's emotional stress overwhelmed her, and before she knew it she was crying. Kage tried to stop her, but she continued. "What then, Kage! What will I do then? Wh-What can I do?" She sobbed. "I couldn't do anything…I couldn't, wouldn't stop you from leaving me, from being happy. I cou—"

Kage embraced Hinata swiftly, cutting off her words. She tried to push him away for a few seconds, but gave up and allowed him to hold her. It hurt to see Hinata suffering from her insecurities, but Kage didn't know what he could do, or say. He realized that it hurt to see Hinata cry; and he wanted her to never cry again. That would be impossible. _All I can do is be there for her when she is crying…and when possible kill the reason, if it's alive._ "I, We…" Kage licked his dry lips and tried to start again. "Hime, I don't know what the future holds; no one does."

The Hyuga Heiress was only a couple of centimeters shorter than the orphan, but as Kage held her weeping form close to his chest she seemed to be the smallest, frailest being he could possibly imagine. He could only hold her as she clutched him and held on for dear life.

"Look at me." Kage begged. "Look at me, Hinata-chan." He waited until she complied. The pain in her pupilless lavender eyes struck him. _She still thinks she's worthless…that she's not good enough for anything._ Kage realized. _Is there anything I can ever do? Will she always be afraid of being inferior? Kami, I pray she doesn't…_

"I give you my word, Hinata-hime; I will commit seppuku long before I even think about betraying you." His intense, dark brown eyes bored into her.

"I don't want you to commit s-suicide." Hinata sniffled. "I just want you to be happy, Kage-kun."

Kage smiled. "Then don't cry, my Hime."

* * *

Naruto perked up as he saw his brother enter the kitchen. "Ah! Nii-san, try some of this!" He handed him a pot with a dark brown liquid in it.

Kage spat out the boiling liquid, not out of pain, but out of disgust. "What the hell is this?" He demanded. _How the hell am I going to distract Naruto and prevent him from knowing Hime and I slept together last night?_

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. A bunch of adults drink it. It's called 'coffee'."

"It tastes like shit mated with giant dung beetles raised on a diet of vomit and piss."

"Which is why I had you drink it first, nii-san." Naruto said with a smile. "Thanks for the heads up, guinea pig." Kage threw the coffee pot at Naruto in a rather halfhearted manner. His shinobi reflexes coming to the rescue, the blonde boy snatched it out of the air by the handle without spilling a drop. Naruto walked over to the sink and dumped out the brown liquid contents. He never noticed that at the instant his gaze was distracted, a familiar dark-blue haired girl snuck past the doorway so it would later appear as if she entered the kitchen from her own room.

Kage scowled back before getting a frying pan and turning on the stove. He poured some oil on it. _Score._

"So what do you guys want to drink?" Naruto directed his question towards Yugito as he walked towards the refrigerator. "Oh, 'morning nee-chan." He said as Hinata entered the kitchen, having obviously just woken up and come down to the kitchen from her room, of course.

He opened the refrigerator and found the egg carton, checking inside to see if there were enough eggs. Satisfied, Naruto threw the entire carton to Kage, who turned around just in time to catch it. From the lack of surprise or annoyance, Hinata and Yugito both guessed that this was a regular breakfast routine for the two brothers. "We have water, milk, apple juice, and orange juice, pulp or no pulp." Naruto continued calmly, knowing that from Kage's lack of expletives that not a single egg had broken.

"Milk."

"Orange juice, with pulp, p-please."

Naruto got the requested drinks and apple juice for himself and walked over to the table. He set the drinks down and sat into his chair…or tried to.

Kage smiled in triumph as the back chair collapsed, and Naruto fell straight backwards onto the ground. Naruto groaned as he picked himself up, rubbing the new lump he had just acquired, courtesy of the floor. "Ohhhh…, my head…"

"You okay? I think you might have a few loose screws after that bump, nii-san." Kage said innocuously. Using his body to shield his closed fist from Naruto's view, he opened his hand to reveal four small metal screws resting in his palm. Hinata giggled softly, while Yugito just gave him a deadpan look.

Naruto wasn't fooled. He knew it was revenge for the coffee incident, and that Kage was more than capable of sabotaging the structure of the chair in the short time his back had been turned. "Okay, even?"

Kage nodded, accepting Naruto's temporary request for a truce. They _did _have guests, after all. "Even."

"So do we need anything at the store, Kage?" The spiky haired jinchuriki asked his brother, sitting down more carefully this time.

"…we appear to be short on clocks."

"Again?" Naruto asked mildly, causing Hinata and Yugito to sweatdrop and wonder how often of an occurrence this was.

"Again." The black-haired boy confirmed. "Other than that, we're good on everything, groceries and the like." He absentmindedly cracked several eggs and let them begin to fry.

Hinata shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable that Naruto and Kage were doing all the work. "A-Ano, I don't w-wish to intrude, but do you need a-any help?

Her boyfriend walked over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't worry about it, Hime. We have Mr. Free-infinite-manual-labor over here on the job."

Naruto made a handseal. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Several Naruto clones went about making breakfast as Kage and Hinata made googily eyes and whispered in each other's ears and Yugito sat watching with her mouth open as she watched her host casually use an A-Ranked Kinjutsu **(Forbidden Technique)** to make breakfast.

Eventually, breakfast was ready. Simple toast and jam came first, followed by eggs and a bit of low-fat ham. After that was a fruit medley with cantaloupe, grapes, honeydew melon, banana slices, apple wedges, and strawberries.

All in all, it was likely the best meal Yugito had ever had. Sadly enough, that fact was not an exaggerated commendation of the breakfast Naruto and Kage had provided (although it was certainly delicious and healthy), but a result of the garbage Yugito had been forced to eat, the only thing she could find in her scrounging.

It made her think, though. _Hope?_ Yugito watched the way Naruto, Hinata, and Kage all acted, watched the way the behaved, the way they spoke. They all just seemed so happy, so carefree. They didn't seem like people who fought for their lives on a regular basis. They just seemed like ordinary teenagers.

However, Yugito could tell without a doubt that any one of them could kill her, even if she tried to use her limited control of the Nibi no Bakeneko. She didn't know how they could be so strong, yet without their strength inflating their egos.

Yugito wondered, no, wanted to know how they were so happy. _Hope_.

Maybe she could have some after all.

* * *

Soon enough, it was time for Hinata and Yugito to go off to get the latter some new, ninja appropriate clothes. For obvious reasons, Naruto and Kage didn't go. As the two girls were leaving, the dragon hanyou caught them at the door. "Hinata-chan! You forgot your headband!"

Kage brushed his girlfriend's dark-blue bangs to the side pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take care."

Hinata blushed. "K-Kage-kun, we're just going to a couple of stores. Don't w-worry about us, we'll be fine." One last hug and then they two left. Kage stood there staring at the closed door.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his surrogate brother. "The infamous Kage, showing concern? Is the Fourth Shinobi World War about to happen? The Juubi about to be released and destroy the world? I must be dreaming." Naruto said dramatically.

"You're so funny, I'm dying of laughter." Kage said dryly. "Don't quit your day job anytime soon, nii-san. At least this way, people won't have to suffer your sense of humor as they die." He turned around.

Naruto sobered up, although his amusement remained. "So…you and Hinata, huh?"

Kage squinted. "I think we've confirmed that."

The blonde jinchuriki waved his hands in front of him in a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just wondering…how'd that even happen?"

"Hmm…it kinda just happened." Kage mused. "Meh, I guess I'll give you the quick version instead of the long one. I guess one day I realized I liked Hinata-chan as more than a friend. Then…well, then I kissed her hoping she didn't slap the shit out of me or Jyuken my testicles to jelly. Turned out she liked me too. We went on a few dates, behind your and Kakshi-sensei's backs of course, and…"

"…And?" Naruto prompted. _Okay, he's about to say something epic! He's going to say "and we fell in love" or something like that._

"…then she almost died for me." Kage said quietly, a haunted look in his eyes. "Remember Mr. Hey-guys-lets-go-get-drunk-and-fuck-up-the-Kyuubi? The one that actually got close?"

"The one that you decided to leave alive?" Naruto pointed out. _Erm…_

"The one that I decided to leave alive." Kage confirmed. "…because of the hospital's great record-keeping skills, the reason for his hospitalization, also known as 'me', had been lost, so somehow he got healed."

A long silence stretched out. Naruto was beginning to see where all the pieces fit together.

"He went looking for you, and attacked you." Naruto guessed. "I doubt there are many jonin that could even _begin_ to sneak up on you or me, so I'm guessing something happened so that you couldn't move out of the way fast enough…and Hinata took the attack for you." He finished quietly, sympathy in his voice.

"Got it in one, nii-san…and the rest, you saw. She took a blade for me, Naruto. A few millimeters lower and not even Tsunade could've healed her." Kage shivered. "She, I, we…I thought she was going to die. _She _thought she was going to die. But…she was smiling, nii-san. She knew she was dying, and she was smiling…and then she told me she loved me. Since then, it's been a blur, I got Tsunade to heal her, Yugito joined our team, and then last nigh—" Kage's face turned an alarming shade of red and he seemed to choke on his words. Kage rambled on, trying to conceal his slip. "I…haven't really had a chance to think about it until now. But, I really love her. I'm in love with Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto noted the dawning goofy smile on his surrogate brother's face. "…You've really got it bad, don't you?"

"You have no idea."

An awkward silence ensued. Kage looked at his jinchuriki brother out of the corner of his eye. "So…I think it'd only be fair to turn the tables and dissect your love live. Any girls you find attractive?"

Naruto grunted noncommittally. "Attractive, yes, possible relationships, no." He poked himself in the stomach. "I kinda got a game-stopping deal going on."

"I'm sure you could find someone that can see past that." Kage said sympathetically. "But in all honesty, anyone you find attractive?" He asked, knowing his brother needed to vent his urges and emotions.

"Hmm…well, that one Oto girl was kinda hot." Naruto mused. "'Cause I dig the long hair. She seemed kinda frigid, though, but I guess it's pretty understandable now that we know Orochimaru-teme was running Otogakure the whole time. Then that Suna kunoichi, Temari, yeah she was really pretty, but once again there's the whole 'bitch' factor going on. Then again, the whole 'having a murderous psychopath as your brother who could possibly murder anyone at any time' probably wasn't too conducive to learning people skills." Naruto's eyes glazed over as he thought. He perked up. "Oh, now that Tenten girl, she was _smoking_! If she let her hair down out of those buns and was okay with having ramen for dinner occasionally, man, the things I'd do to her…"

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you saw her breasts?" Kage sweatdropped.

"Of course not!" Naruto protested. "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"A hormonal teenage boy." The black-haired teen deadpanned. "Besides, they weren't all that great. Hinata's are better." He snickered pervertedly to himself for a few seconds before his eyes widened and his face paled. _I did not just say that!_

Naruto grinned and held his hand up. "High-fiiiiiiiive! You're a fast mover, Kage, we'll be getting you laid in no time!"

Said hanyou simply held his face between his hands at his foot-in-mouth moment. "We're not like that, Naruto. There is more to our relationship than physical aspects." He desperately cast around for a different subject. "You and Yugito seem to have quite a lot in common…"

Naruto groaned. "Don't try to cover it up, nii-san, I know exactly where you're trying to go. And no. Besides where are we even going with this whole conversation? I'd like to become Hokage and _then_ have a family. I mean, Yugito's seems pretty sharp, she definitely has potential as a kunoichi, and she's definitely attra—" Naruto cut himself off and glared at Kage, who looked back in mock innocence. "…I don't think it's a good idea."

"In other words, you're attracted to her also, but don't wish to pursue a relationship." Kage translated.

Naruto sighed in frustration. "Yeah, but I just, just, feel so _shallow_. I've known Yugito for what, two days? But I just feel like we have so much in common. I look at her, and I _know_ that we understand each other. We've been through the same things, but Yugito's had it even worse. Besides, who else can understand a jinchuriki's life better than another jinchuriki?"

"I understand your life."

"But you're a guy." Naruto deadpanned. "I don't swing that way."

Naruto and Kage both laughed, the two brothers sharing a very amusing moment of mutual homophobia. [2]

As their chuckles died down, Naruto sobered up a bit. "But really, Nii-san. What's it like?"

"Being in love?"

"Yeah."

"It's like…damn, it's so cliché, but it really is like finding your other half. Sometimes, when we're together, just holding each other, I don't know where I end and Hinata-chan begins, or vice versa. Feh. I'm supposed to be a cynic, not a romantic." Kage started to spit to the side, but, realizing he was inside his own house, thought better of it. "Ever since…that one day; without her, I'm not whole. Even right now, when she's not here next to me…if this is bad, I can't even imagine what I'd do if she was taken away from me, or if…she left me. Trust me, you'll understand one day."

Another silence, less awkward than the first. Talking about emotions so deeply and for so long was a very, very uncommon occurrence. To keep their pride as males, something had to be done.

"So…wanna fight?"

"Hell yeah. I thought you'd never ask, nii-san."

* * *

Yugito's head snapped from side to side as she saw all the stores. _There's a toy store! And there's a movie theatre! And a dango stand!_ Her gaze looked in all directions as she saw all kinds of new things she had never before had the luxury to enjoy.

Next to her, Hinata watched the blonde with interest. She didn't need her hellstromism skills to know approximately what was going on in Yugito's head. _If her life in Kumo was anything like Naruto-nii-san's, Yugito-san has probably never walked freely in a market place before. She's probably never even been in public without someone trying to kill her…_

Hinata just walked down the street, keeping the energetic blonde girl in her sight at all times (being a Hyuga, not nearly as difficult despite how much Yugito was running around). _She's a lot like how Naruto-nii-san used to be…_Hinata thought. She blinked twice to confirm what she was now seeing. _Oh dear…_

"Hey hey hey!" Yugito whined, squirming around trying to escape the Hyuga's deceptively strong grip (halfheartedly, since she knew Hinata meant her no harm). "What're you doing! That guy was gonna lemme try some beer!"

"Which is e-exactly why I stopped you. You're thirteen. If you are going to get d-drunk and waste your b-brain matter away, you are going to have to do it as a lonely hermit, far away from any of us." Hinata said firmly. The threat of being so suddenly abandoned caused Yugito to stop struggling. "Too many ninja fall into a-alcoholism as a way to escape."

"Hhmph. Fine." Yugito said offhandedly, and continued ogling all the various stores with her eyes as the two continued walking.

After a few more seconds, Hinata's last sentence registered in her brain. "Wait, what did you mean, 'escape'?"

Hinata shifted uncomfortably, for many reasons. She was in a bit of physical pain, a low, burning sensation in her abdomen, but as a kunoichi she was easily able to push such sensation to the back of her mind. However, Yugito's question raised quite a significant amount of emotional discomfort, as well. "To escape what we have to do." Hinata said cryptically. She tried to walk a little faster, but Yugito ran in front of her and planted her feet firmly.

"Hey, gimme a firm answer, okay?" The Nibi jinchuriki had a pretty good idea of what Hinata was saying, but she wanted it confirmed. Yugito was not the biggest fan of subtlety. In the conditions she had grown up in, there was never room for shades of gray.

Hinata sighed. "Yugito-san…have you ever killed a man?"

Yugito shook her head in a negative. _That one time…it doesn't count. The Nibi killed those men, not me._ She pushed her memories back.

"I have. It's not nearly as g-glorious as they say." Hinata murmured bitterly. "If you ever p-plan on becoming a successful ninja…and you're _going_ to become one if you end up on Team S-Seven, you're going to have to get used to the idea. Ninja have to k-kill on a fairly regular basis. We end up being s-scarred inside, and many try to escape their deeds, some with alcohol, like I said, or others with excessive s-s-sex, gambling, or other drugs. Some of us even end up taking our own l-lives. Or, some of us become addicted to something far worse. We start to enjoy k-killing."

Yugito raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like it's unavoidable." She said neutrally. _I'm sure I'll be able to handle it. Hm, for most of my life I've had people trying to kill me. It'd be a nice change of pace for the tables to be turned, to be the huntress instead of the hunted._

"The killing? Yes. The consequences, no." Hinata whirled around to face Yugito. "You have to keep in mind the reason why you f-fight. What makes you want, need to t-take a life? I fight to protect my friends. K-Kage-kun fights to protect his family. Naruto-nii-san fights to protect his village."

"And what would be my reason?" Yugito countered.

"Gomen…Only you can find that out." Hinata gave her a sympathetic look. "We're here at the clothing shop."

* * *

Naruto doubled over, Kage's fist in his gut.

"You're getting slow, nii-san." Kage smirked.

Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kage's eyes widened an instant before Naruto punched him hard in the kidney area. "And you're getting sloppy."

Kage fell to the floor clutching the small of his back…and puffed into smoke as well. Blue eyes widened as a sword flashed, and Naruto's head was separated from the rest of his body.

Which also both turned into smoke.

Kage scowled and resheathed his sword. "Alright, nii-san, lets knock off the spamming of the shadow clones. We'll be here all day if we keep this up."

"What do you suggest?" Naruto called out from the trees.

Kage's eyes shifted from side to side. He could sense where Naruto was…all ten of them. As each clone gave off the exact same chakra signature as the original, Kage had no way of telling which was the real one…if the real one was even there. Also, they all spoke in synchronization, so the voices seemed to be coming from all directions at once…which they were.

"No Kage Bushin. I'd like to avoid burning down our house, too, so how 'bout no ninjutsu. Taijutsu?"

Naruto (all ten of them) stepped out from the trees. Then, nine of them disappeared, leaving the original.

"Sounds good. Let's go."

* * *

Yugito was getting tired of black and green, but those seemed to be the only colors Hinata picked out for her. Granted, black and green made for fantastic camouflage, especially in the sylvan environment of Hi no Kuni, but Yugito hated wearing the color green. It reminded her of the days spent living in the streets and sewers, so covered with filth she couldn't even see her own skin (for the same reason, she disliked brown clothing as well).

Hinata had quickly stopped suggesting clothing when it became apparent Yugito didn't like the colors or styles she was picking, and instead stood quietly back as Yugito picked her own outfits. Only occasionally would she provide small suggestions, such whether one fabric was better at wicking sweat or water, or another was better at insulating body heat, or which had the best places for concealing weapons.

The Nibi Jinchuriki had just found a shirt she really liked. It was basically a black-outlined long sleeved shirt and pant's combo, but with a solid area of dark blue around the torso. She was idly looking through another rack of clothes while Hinata searched for the same design but of a more durable material.

Yugito was so absorbed that she never heard the footsteps behind her.

"Excuse…" The employee froze and tilted his chin up so that the kunai at this throat was pressing against his skin with less pressure. "…me?"

Yugito looked at the man for a long moment before deciding he was most likely a minimal threat, and slid the rusty weapon back into her sleep. "…sorry.

"Ah, it's okay." The man laughed, diffusing the tension slightly. It was a store primarily patronized by ninja, this certainly wasn't the first time someone had pointed a kunai at his vital regions. "New ninja? We offer discounts to first-time Shinobi customers."

"Um, yeah." Yugito said warily. "Yugito Nii, of Konohakagure no Sato Shinobi Infantry Cell 7, commanded by Kakashi Hatake. Ninja Registration number 012620." She recited.

The man's eyes lit up in recognition. Everyone knew _what_ was on Team 7. Being a very good human being, of course, the man thought he should warn her. "Say…about one of your squad mates…there's something you really need to know, if you don't already. You know what I'm talking about?" He whispered.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific." Yugito said edgily.

"Your teammate...he—"

"What is this about my teammate I am about to hear?" Hinata asked in a cold tone as she strolled down the aisle way, Yugito's outfit in her hand. "I'm _very_ interested to hear what you have to say." She stared unblinkingly at the employee.

The man blanched. "Oh…erm, I was just about to comment on how your teammate was able to learn your Clan's fighting style, that's all…" He laughed nervously.

Hinata did not laugh. Instead she continued to stare at the man for a long moment. His already weak attempts at chuckles died down in his throat, and he shifted his weight from side to side, clearly nervous knowing that somehow the Hyuga Heiress knew what he had been going to say, and was not happy about it. At worst, he could go anywhere from losing his job to being executed (depending on whether or not the new Hokage was willing to revoke the Sandaime's law).

Right as he opened his mouth to speak, Hinata dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Of course. It has caused difficulties with our team dynamic, a teammate _stealing_ techniques from another. It was a move almost reminiscent of an…_Uchiha_." _Just another way to throw people off the trail about us._ Hinata thought. She was starting to get into the habit of slipping into the typical Hyuga persona when around strangers. Hyuga persona meaning distant and harboring a distinct but cultured distaste of anything related to the Uchiha, the Hyuga's greatest rivals. Hinata gave the man a hard look, and took a half-step back at her pupil-less gaze. "If that is all…we would like to purchase our items and depart."

Outside the store, Yugito gave Hinata a questioning look. "What was that? You just looked at that guy and he backed down."

Hinata shrugged. _I don't like intimidating people, but I will not tolerate people spreading their idiotic conceptions about Naruto-nii-san!_ "It's a f-family trait." Hinata murmured, mostly just to fill the awkward silence. "Some people think our eyes are creepy, so when we stare at them they get very uncomfortable." _Except Kage-kimi; he likes my eyes._ Hinata thought she had only said the last sentence in her head, but apparently Yugito heard it too. She raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"You do know what he was going to say, right?"

Yugito nodded. "He was no doubt trying to 'warn' me about Naruto's 'resident'."

Hinata nodded her head. "Although some people are starting to see N-Naruto-nii-san as a hero, many still see him as a demon, something I'm sure you can sympathize with."

* * *

Naruto and Kage swiftly traded blows, their fists and feet mere blurs as they attempted to strike one another. The jinchuriki and hanyou were having a 'light' spar. They could only have medium to heavy spars on an actual training ground, because both Naruto and Kage would create several hundred Kage Bushin each, and there would be fireballs and wind bullets flying all over the place…not a good idea to have in one's own backyard. So by mutual agreement of not wanted to burn down or destroy their own house, Naruto and Kage both didn't use ninjutsu, as just about all the ones they used were destructive on a fairly large scale. Also, neither used genjutsu, because they both sucked at it.

Kage had opted to 'retire' his Long Ying, preferring to focus on Juken as his main taijutsu, for ulterior motives. However, after several of Naruto's tenketsu were painfully closed, he chanced upon a fortuitous discovery: by focusing the Kyuubi's youkai, he could reopen his tenketsu, thus rendering the Juken useless. So Kage was forced to use his original fighting style against Naruto, loosing any advantage he might have gained with Juken.

Kage was starting to pant heavily. After all, not everyone could be expected to have Naruto's inhuman stamina; and they had been sparring nearly since breakfast, with only a thirty minute break for lunch. His exhaustion was starting to show; Naruto was landing more and more punches on him as Kage's movements began to slow. Shaking his head, the dragon hanyou jumped back, buying himself a few seconds of respite.

"You never said…anything 'bout fuinjutsu, right? Fuinjutsu: Chakra Kekkai** (Sealing Art: Chakra Barrier)**!" Kage made several handseals and slammed both palms into the ground, causing a blue dome of chakra to form around him. Naruto punched the protective structure, but his fist rebounded off as it he had hit a rubber wall. His brother smirked at him from the other side of the translucent membrane, even as he placed his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. "Heh…I've…improved this…since graduation."

Naruto frowned as he stepped back, a plan already forming in the back of his mind. "This is…unfortunate."

"No, unfortunate is…the dead guy in my closet." Kage shot back. "This is just realistic. You never know when your opponent has a trick you're not aware of."

Naruto nodded, a foxy grin working its way onto his face. "How true." He held his right palm face up and began to dart his left hand back and forth over it. Slowly, a blue ball began to coalesce above his palm, a spherical mass of swirling chakra.

Kage's eyes widened. _No way! That's…_

"…You should pay attention to your own advice, nii-san! Rasengan!" Naruto thrust the jutsu at the blue dome. As the two chakras came into contact, Kage's dome began to bend and dent at the point of contact, and its user tried to funnel more chakra into the affected area, but to no avail. Light blue cracks began to appear in Kage's fuinjutsu, and finally the whole dome shattered. Pieces of chakra dissipated as they hit the ground, causing blue wisps to rise as Naruto smirked in triumph.

However, Kage's diversion had successfully bought him enough time to regain his breath. He gave Naruto a curious look. "Rasengan? Starting to learn your father's jutsu, ne?" Before Naruto could respond, Kage tilted his head to the side as his mind registered two chakra signatures, one familiar and the other less so. "Looks like Hinata-chan and Yugito are back. Want to give them a show?" He took a ready stance.

"Tch. You just want to show off for your _girlfriend_." Naruto teased, but also took a slight crouch.

Kage closed his eyes and shrugged carelessly. "True. But hey, why wouldn't I?" He opened his eyes to reveal his activated Kokugan. "Use the Kyuubi's energy. Let's see how fast you are now."

_Sure…as long as I don't hold it for too long, I'll be fine. _Naruto complied, an orange cloak of bubbling, corrupted energy forming around him. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Kage's reply was to dash forwards, sending a flurry of punches and kicks at Naruto. Naruto's sharpened vision noticed the angle and target of all of Kage's strikes, and the youkai pouring through his body vitalized his muscles so that he were fast enough to block or dodge most of his brothers attacks. The spiky-haired blonde blocked a backhand knifehand strike with a vertical forearm, and, seeing an opening in his brother's guard, punched Kage in the solar plexus.

Said boy stumbled backwards, having managed to shift his body upwards so he was able to cushion the blow with tensed abdominals. _Shit, that HURT! If nii-san put any more force behind that, I could have seriously been damaged…as it is, I'm sure that left a nice bruise…_

Naruto's slitted eyes narrowed in amusement, his irises a red on par with Kage's crimson shirt. "What's the matter, nii-san? Am I too much for you to handle?"

_That's it._ Kage sneered as he removed his black vest and red t-shirt, leaving him only in his black slacks. "Pfft. As if. You asked for it now, though. If you can't stand the heat…get the fuck away from the dragon!" Kage attacked at his true full speed, slamming fists, elbows, knees, and feet into Naruto from all directions. He held back only on the strength of his impacts, in terms of speed he held nothing back.

Suddenly, Naruto found himself under attack from seemingly multiple directions at once. Kage was truly going all out in terms of agility now; Naruto would have to block a punch from his front side, only to have a knee slam into his back, followed by an elbow to the ribcage and a palm to the throat. Naruto winced under the pain of several blows as he tried to match Kage at top speed. He made very little progress for around two minutes, but suddenly Naruto felt a rush of energy and found that he was almost fighting on equal grounds with his brother once again.

Kage's eyes widened momentarily as Naruto's orange cloak started to bubble at a faster pace, and a small lump appeared at the base of his ethereal tail. It slowly lengthened, forming a second tail nearly identical to the first. All the sudden, Naruto was able to react to his attacks much faster, and Kage grinned. _Now we're talking…_

Together, the two traded blows at speeds most jonin only dreamed of attaining. To many ninja, they would appear as mere blurs, each lashing out at each other at unfathomable speeds. To a civilian, they would be all but invisible.

Kage was the slightly faster of the two, which complimented his footwork-dependant style immensely. Now that he was actually pushing himself to his top speed, he realized that his ability to perceive his opponent's speed, in this case Naruto, far outstripped his body's own movement. In other words, a lot of his Kokugan's potential was being wasted. With his enhanced perception, Kage could easily see where Naruto left himself open to attacks, but could not strike at them quickly enough. He made a mental note to start doing training exercises that would allow him to become faster.

Naruto, on the other hand, was only slightly slower, but far stronger. He had to make sure to only hit Kage 'lightly', meaning that he would only give Kage large bruises, not broken bones or internal bleeding. He knew his brother was mostly doing the same, but on a lesser scale, only avoiding lethal strikes to the spine (and crotch shots, as a courtesy from male to male). Naruto didn't have to worry about injuries, at his current rate of channeling the Kyuubi's chakra, hairline fractures to bones were repaired almost instantly. However, if he hit Kage at full strength, he could easily turn several ribs to dust, whereas Kage would crack one of Naruto's ribs and have it repaired within a few seconds. Even so, Naruto did his best to block Kage's strikes and hit back as often as possible, as getting hit still _hurt_, and it was satisfying to test himself again his brother. Still, Naruto knew he would walk away from the fight in a lot less pain than Kage.

Together, the two brothers fought. Hinata and Yugito had already come back into the house and deposited their various purchases, and were watching Naruto and Kage's fight in the back yard. The two watching girls were momentarily ignored as the boys clashed, the telltale sound of a strike hitting flesh occasionally sounding off, making at least one of the four wince.

Eventually, though, Naruto and Kage's spar came to a close, because Naruto's level of stamina could simply not be matched by the dragon hanyou teenager.

* * *

Hinata gave her boyfriend a desirous look as she and Yugito walked towards the recovering boys. _Oooh, just look at his hot, sweaty body. I can't wait until he's positioned over me, sweating with the exertions of our love Mmmmmmm…_ Hinata knew her thinking was very abnormal for her, but she _was_ a teenage girl, after all. It was perfectly reasonable for her to be fantasizing about her and boyfriend, she told herself. Meanwhile, a trickle of blood seeped from one nostril as she hungrily devoured Kage with her eyes, much to Naruto and Kage's amusement.

Suddenly, Hinata felt a rush of air, and her boyfriend's voice whispered into her ear suggestively. "Are you thinking dirty thoughts, Hime?" Hinata shivered as Kage's warm breath tickled her ear, his voice pitched so that only she could hear it. "I hope so…"

It was too much for the poor girl. Her mind went into overdrive as her hormonal teenage mind filled with images of her and Kage engaging in several adult activities. Her pale lavender eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fainted, only to be caught by Kage. Said boy smirked as Hinata fell into his arms, a blissful smile on her face as she delved into unconsciousness. _Hah. It's so fun making her blush or stutter._

Yugito just stared in amazement at Naruto and Kage. _How…how are they so strong? Naruto said that it is his desire to protect the people he cares about that fuels his determination to become strong…All I want to do is protect myself; can I ever become as strong as them? _

Kage groaned. "Ohhh…that shiz hurts…" He looked down at his body, where dozens of large, fist-sized bruises were beginning to darken. "I better get ice on this stuff pretty soon." However, he made no indication to move, preferring to wait for Hinata to wake up rather than carry her and risk the slight chance of dropping her in his exhausted state.

"So…you really have a dead guy in your closet?" Naruto panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Maybe." Kage replied, just as winded as Naruto, but still supporting almost all of Hinata's weight. "You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've found in there. Once, I even found a half-eaten sushi roll. Still tasted good, too."

Seeing Naruto's disgusted look, Kage quickly made a placating gesture with one hand. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, jeesh. I may hate wasting food, but even I wouldn't eat something that has been out for Kami knows how long. Geez, I was just kidding."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Good, because that would be disgusting." He walked inside to get a drink. "You want water or soda?"

"Soda." Yugito said.

"Water for me 'n Hinata-chan." Kage said. As Naruto walked inside, the black-haired boy turned to his new teammate and whispered conspiratorially.

**

* * *

**

**AN: **

**There's so much fluff…**

**And also, notice how Kage is very slowly acting less and less human, in both his actions and his speech. Eventually, this will change the overall plot in a way none of you will expect…(but the story is still about Naruto, overall)**

**[1]: Anko can be a name; but it is also the name for Red Bean Paste put in some dango. Also, it is the name for Monkfish, a type of fish used in sushi, which stays consistent with Kage's dream naming his daughter for different kinds of fish (it's a dream…deal with it). In order, Ayu is sweet trout and Hirame is flounder. Yes, Kage is absolutely obsessed with sushi, seals, and Hinata. **

**[2]: Rofl. I'm sorry, but sometimes 'no homo' moments are just fucking hilarious. I don't particularly enjoy offending homosexuals, but I certainly don't regret it. I regret nothing!...Except maybe that one night after Sadie's…oh wait, that's right, hell no I don't regret that!**

**Next time: "You want more serious training? SURVIVE THROUGH THIS!"**

**And just as a side rant, people seem to think tailing me by 2 feet on the highway or on a fast road will somehow make me go faster.**

**

* * *

**

**No, that's going to make me go slower…and then when you try to change lanes, I'm going to cut you off (my version of passive road rage). For the next several miles or blocks (depending on how badly pissed off I am at you tailing me), I will continue to cut you off. If you happen to hit me as a result, I will sue you.**

**Of course, you'll hire a lawyer (or your insurance will, I don't care) and say that you're completely innocent. At that point, I will take out a copy of the California Driver's Handbook, and clearly prove that the accident is completely your fault (as a matter of fact, if we're both on the freeway, and I decide to slam on the brakes and you hit me, it is **_**STILL**_** your fault. Any time you hit the back of someone's car, it is your fault). After that, you will pay for complete repairs and a brand new paint job. Capiche?**


End file.
